Grandpa Takes Me To The Moon

Posted on June 3, 2017 by gdano

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  1. Grandpa Takes Me To The Moon
  2. Author: Timothy R. Gaffney
  3. Illustrator: Barry Root
  4. Publisher and Year: William Morrow and Company, 1996
  5. Number of Pages: 32
  6. Genre: Whimsical Fantasy
  7. Timothy R. Gaffney’s book, Grandpa Takes Me To The Moon, is the heartwarming story of an old man and his young grandson discussing the Apollo missions (and coming in and out of the Earth’s atmosphere firsthand) is told through images that gently evoke the spirit of hope and optimism about America’s place in space during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. It describes how, during an otherwise tumultuous era, the American public just stopped worrying about the struggles they had in their everyday lives and got together to salute the brave men who went into the cosmos in the name of science and peace, something the author clearly values in how he nostalgically describes the real life impact those missions had on him as a young boy interacting with the people around him at that time. Readers of this story might ask themselves “Why do we have so much strife on this planet when science can achieve such amazing feats as the NASA Space Program?”-a fair line of inquiry in my opinion. However, the author does not get furious or overworked about this or any other issue, but he does do it in a way that’s subtle yet potent enough to get wedged in the minds of children, showing how good communication from author to reader is so important in breaking down barriers  and overcoming whatever squabbles we may have here on Earth. So far as the picturebook codes are concerned, the primary code in this book is that of colors. Throughout the book, outer space is a limitless expanse of black. Root chose a lovely strategy of using brightened-up colors on Earth’s surface in many shades of watercolors, showing that for this book, the Earth’s surface is much more diverse and rosy. Finally, when it comes to special features, the only one that comes to mind is just a well-written summary of the Apollo missions at the beginning to provide context for the reader. The ideology of the book is that the author wants everybody to be able to fit in with their fellow human beings to realize the things that unite, rather than divide, us. Gaffney shows us this ideology by providing a safe, fun way to teach about tolerance and diversity through one of history’s greatest moments, and how the moon landing and subsequent missions made a difference in how the world saw itself in general.
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