From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Unusual page design and a fine array of memorable, seldom-mentioned details make this an irresistible invitation to travel along with the astronaut who stayed aloft while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. In a narrative interspersed with the crew's r‚sum‚s, handwritten passages from Collins's notes, candid family and mission snapshots, control panel and spacesuit diagrams, lists of personal items that Apollo astronauts brought to the moon, the sometimes-quirky things they left there, and more, Schyffert both humanizes the experience of going into space and captures a sense of what a technical achievement it was and is. (The procedural checklists alone weighed 20 pounds and were referred to by the astronauts as the "fourth passenger.") Closing with notes about the later careers of all three Apollo 11 astronauts, and a final quote from the command module pilot, "We're lucky to have this planet. I know," this book will inspire any child intrigued by the past or future of space exploration to track down Collins's own old-but-still-fresh Flying to the Moon (Farrar, 1994).John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 3-6. It's bad enough to go somewhere and have to wait alone in the car, but what if you traveled all the way to the moon and had to stay in the spacecraft? This is the story of Michael Collins, the astronaut on the 1969 Apollo 11 moon mission who did not walk on the moon. His job was to maneuver the capsule and wait while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module and planted the first footprints into moon dust. For 14 lonely turns, Collins circled the moon: "The only thing between him and outer space is some insulation and a thin sheet of metal." More than a trip to the Smithsonian, even more than viewing the film Apollo 13, this excellent book--illustrated scrapbook-style with a cleverly presented mix of photographs, illustrations, and charts--communicates the excitement of space travel. Details about the Columbia--equipment, food (frosted flakes and peanut cubes), and the sights and smells--will fascinate readers. Schyffert does a brilliant job of capturing the enormity of space travel during this suspenseful journey. Karin Snelson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Do you know the story of Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut who went all the way to the moon but never walked on its surface? Instead, he orbited the moon 14 times, surrounded by 701 power switches and 20 pounds of checklists. Reminiscent of a scrapbook, this extraordinary book chronicles what Michael Collins did, saw, and thought about in space. Through fascinating facts, quotes, checklists, original drawings, and photos taken both in space and on Earth, it also tells how the astronauts prepared for their historic journey, what they brought with them, and what they left behind.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Swedish


Card catalog description
A biography of the astronaut, Michael Collins, who circled the moon in the Apollo 12 space capsule while his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module and walked on the moon.


About the Author
Bea Uusma Schyffert is exactly one inch too short to become an astronaut, so she studied illustration instead. She has illustrated more than ten books. This is the first she's both illustrated and written. It received the prestigious Swedish Book Art Award as well as an award at the 2002 International Book Art Competition.

ANNOTATION

A biography of the astronaut, Michael Collins, who circled the moon in the Apollo 12 space capsule while his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module and walked on the moon.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A biography of the astronaut, Michael Collins, who circled the moon in the Apollo 12 space capsule while his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module and walked on the moon.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The story of the first lunar landing unfolds from an unexpected perspective in The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins by Bea Uusma Schyffert. While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, Collins maintained control of the command module, orbiting the moon 14 times. Featuring an eye-catching design and foil jacket, this book includes facts, checklists, personal notes and photos taken from Earth and from space, revealing what Collins saw, did and thought about during Apollo 11's historic mission. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Beverley Fahey

This book has great visual appeal, beginning with its shiny metallic cover and extending to its eclectic contents. While most kids know the names of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin few can recall much about Michael Collins. He was the man who flew the command module 14 lonely times around the moon (with no communication with Earth on the dark side of the moon), while the two other astronauts garnered world recognition. The unique design of the book, fashioned to resemble a scrapbook, offers a personal look at the man and the mission. Photos, drawings, diagrams, a reproduction of Collins' checklist, and his own handwritten observations are filled with fascinating details. It is amazing to learn that the checklists weighed 20 lbs, that Collins had to make 850 computer commands before Armstrong and Aldrin could take off from the moon, that inside a space suit it is so quiet the astronaut can hear his own muscles flexing, that an item left on the moon will stay in the same place forever as there is no wind to blow it away, and that the astronauts returning from the moon smelled like spent gunpowder, the smell of the moon. On his return to Earth, the quiet rose gardener never went back into space but celebrated the fact that he was along for "99% of the voyage." The imaginative design will catch the reader's eye but once inside the pages of this book he will come to respect and admire this unassuming hero. 2003 (1999), Chronicle Books, Ages 8 to 12.

School Library Journal