First sentence: Lights flashed. A rocket rumbled. Alan Bean's dream was about to come true.
Premise/plot: The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon is a picture book biography of Alan Bean. The book shares how he was a pilot and astronaut who learned to paint...not just what he saw, but what he felt. He would take the photographs he took of the moon and translate them into artistic paintings of what he felt like being on the moon. Whether you're interest--as a reader--is in space or space travel OR art--I think this one has much appeal.
My thoughts: I definitely loved this one. I loved the text. The narrative is engaging.
The Earth looked breathtaking from the cockpit. The white clouds above. The green fields below. The blue all around. Alan wished he could paint what he saw. He found an art class to teach him about patterns and forms. Alan dabbed his brush on the canvas to paint a vase of flowers. His flowers didn't look exactly real, but he didn't want them to. They were brighter and bolder than real ones because he let his imagination take over. The painting showed how stunning the flowers looked through Alan's eyes. How they made him feel.I really loved the author's note. The author's note includes more information about Alan Bean. It also shows Alan's photographs side-by-side with his artwork. This book provides several quotes by Alan Bean. And overall it seems well-researched. (There's even an in-depth timeline of space exploration.)
The book focuses on his adult life--his training to be an astronaut, his moon mission, his work as a painter.
Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10
© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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