The Book Lady Blog

There are certain momentous occasions that occur when you know exactly where you were when they happened.  One of those vivid memories for me was the Apollo 11 moon landing.  As the world celebrates the 40^th anniversary of this milestone space mission, I remember back to summer of 1969 – I was eight years old and fairly oblivious to the historic significance of this event.   

I remember my father gathering us around the television.  “You need to watch this – this is something you will remember the rest of your life” he said. 

I must admit I had never been enthralled with space up to then – I had never watched Star Trek or followed the space missions up to now.  I do remember the book “You will go to the Moon” by Mae & Ira Freeman.  Written in 1959 – most of us baby boomers grew up with this book.

Last night, as my husband and I watched an Apollo 11 documentary on the history channel, I thought back to that summer.  My husband, being a space enthusiast, has read such books as, “A Man on the Moon” by Andrew Chaikin,  “ Failure is not an option” by Gene Kranz (former flight director of NASA) and “Rocket Man” the story of Pete Conrad by Nancy Conrad and Howard A. Klausner.   

If you have children that are fans of space, some excellent books for kids are “Who is Neil Armstrong?” by Roberta Edwards, “There’s no place like Space: All about our Solar System (Cat in the Hat learning library) by Tish Rabe and First Space Encyclopedia by DK Publishing. 

For me, though, I will always love the book, “You will go to the moon” because I do remember that day, July 20, 1969 when three brave American astronauts did indeed, journey to the moon, and the sight of Neil Armstrong, stepping on the moon was indeed something, as my Dad predicated, a moment that I will never forget. 

I am always asking kids, “What are you reading?” 

For the last several years, especially for middle-school aged kids, the majority of them answered, “Twilight”   

Originally published in 2005 – Stephenie Meyer has written a superb fantasy about two star-crossed lovers – Bella and Edward (who just happens to be a vampire) 

Bella adores Edward, and risks her life to be near him, knowing that at any moment his passion for her could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over trying to control his blood lust for her and keep her safe. 

Propelled by suspense and romance, it is easy to see why teens have gotten hooked on the book series that includes the sequels New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. 

The book was made into a blockbuster movie that was released in theaters on November 21, 2008 and grossed $60.9 million domestically during its first weekend.  To date the film has grossed nearly $380 million dollars worldwide. 

The sequel to Twilight – New Moon has been made into a movie that will be released in theaters on November 20, 2009.  Whenever a movie is released, there is usually a surge in popularity for the book or book series. 

I read Twilight recently (have to keep up with the kids) and found it fascinating but very dark.  Stephenie Meyer is a very skillful writer that weaves passion, danger, and excitement into her pages that keeps readers engrossed in this story of vampire love. 

This books is categorized YA (Young Adult) and is appropriate for ages 12+I have had children as young as seven tell me they want to read Twilight (most likely they have heard the “buzz” about the book from older siblings) but I would warn parents that it is way too intense a read for kids in elementary school.   

If you know of a reluctant reader in middle or high school, however, you may want to introduce them to Twilight and they might also get swept up in the modern day vampire love story of Bella and Edward. 

Happy Reading!
The Book Lady