Margot and the Moon Landing

Gr 1-3--Margot is a young girl who is obsessed with space. She reads and rereads all her favorite books about space even though her mother tries to convince her to read books about other topics. She loves to share the new facts she learns with everyone she meets, but her enthusiasm is met with indifference. One morning Margot wakes up and finds that every time she opens her mouth to speak, only the transmissions from Neil Armstrong's 1969 mission to the moon come out. Throughout the school day, Margot is baffled that no one else notices what's going on. She grows increasingly frustrated and erupts when she gets home from school. She writes all her feelings out on her bedroom wall. Her mother enters her room and initially yells, but when she reads all Margot's words, her expression changes and she writes, "I hear you." Margot's mother returns with a bucket of paint, and they paint the wall blue with a space motif, including large sheets of paper so she has a place to write her thoughts. In the charming illustrations, Margot has short, dark hair and brown skin, as does her mother, with a diverse array of background characters. VERDICT A nice addition promoting individuality and the importance of being heard and staying true to yourself.--Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn