ALMOST UNDERWEAR: How a Piece of Cloth Traveled From Kitty Hawk to the MOON and MARS!

 

Christy Ottaviana Books
Little, Brown and Company 2024

Did that headline get you? I can't imagine it didn't, and the cover of this new picture book will attract young readers as much or more. ALMOST UNDERWEAR: How A Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty hawk to the MOON and MARS is written and illustrated by Jonathon Roth. 

This delightful nonfiction picture book is a winner on many levels. 

First, progressively smaller swatches of sturdy muslin fabric (woven for use as the ubiquitous but unglamorous role of becoming underwear) are showcased in their roles in aviation history. Spanning the years from 1903, and experimental situations from Dayton, Ohio to Mars, this clever and true account of lesser known science history is gently personified with two eyes and a set of expressive eyebrows. 

That muslin cloth served as wing coverings for the Wright Brothers early attempts, with a small swatch honored as part of a travel pouch accompanying Neil Armstrong on the first Moon landing. Decades later an even tinier swatch from that original bolt of fabric became part of the experimental helicopter flight on Mars, launched by one of the Mars Rovers. This appealing cloth/character makes the span of more than a century read cohesively and compellingly.

Next, the illustration approach uses a visually clever technique, mounting full spreads or small inserts of photographic images from actual sites in Dayton, from Kitty Hawk, from the lunar module and the first Moon landing, on to helicopter test flights on Mars. Those dramatically anchoring images are inset with (or framed by) charmingly simple art that depicts the people and activities that are depicted.

Finally, the subject matter of flight, space exploration, following dreams, and innovation are strong hooks for many ages and backgrounds. The backmatter includes a helpful author note as well as an illustrated glossary/explainer about six of the advanced technology tools being used in space exploration. This will be a hit and offers a bibliography for anyone seeking further details!

Don;'t be surprised iff you need to wait on a library hold for quite a while, as i did. That might encourage you to purchase this as a holiday gift for someone who will love it!

PERSEVERANCE Inspires! And so does EMMA!

I hope that you were able to watch the landing of the NASA MARS rover, PERSEVERANCE. Live, or on replay, it was a thrilling experience. Even masked and socially distanced cheering from the ground control crew made their exuberance obvious. Watching them celebrate took me right back to my childhood viewing, on grainy black-and-white screens, while a team of exclusively white males LOST THEIR MINDS in jubilation as rockets fired successfully, or a capsule's parachute released on time. Those cheers were especially thrilling when the hatch of a capsule, bobbing in the ocean, was opened and astronauts safely emerged, waving gloved hands to the cameras.

At that time, the primitive technology and pioneering explorations were so extraordinary that the danger should have magnified our reactions. In fact, the current teams seem every bit as thrilled  and relieved as those early exploration events. What thrilled me just as much as their success was the contrast between the all-white-male team during the sixties and the visibility of women and non-White professionals among current celebrating teams. That representation matters, even if proportions lag population ratios. 

I have been checking in with NASA/Perseverance updates daily, because viewing the activities of Perseverance is more reliably smile-generating than anything I can think of from this past year. YouTube has short recorded clips of the actual landing, not just simulations, and I urge you to take a look, HERE, NOW. 

But what does all this have to do with picture books? Well, smiles and inspiration are good places to start. EMMA ON MARS is written by Billy Dunne and illustrated by Vanessa Port. It's a  charming little picture book in which young Emma is FURIOUS when she learns that our planet Earth is being mistreated by humans, including her own parents.When their response to her concern disappoints, Emma launches her attempt to relocate on Mars. Her age-appropriate efforts involve significant science information, word play, imaginary exploration and analysis, and crafty projects before a  touch of homesickness shifts her focus to her home planet.

MAVERICK  ARTS PUBLISHING, 2021

Emma's awareness of the remarkable planet on which she/we live launches both commitment and action to organize, plan, plant, protect, and preserve in every way she can. Those efforts inspire her parents to snap out of their routines and support Emma's Earth-friendly energy.

This bright and ambitious girl in a contemporary, mixed family expands a lively and light-hearted story into something special. Emma's personality, curiosity, initiative, and empowerment combine with early science concepts to launch young readers into investigations and study that could eventually land them in NASA and private control rooms, or on board  future "manned" spaceships with people who fully reflect our Human race. 

We can add to that enthusiasm and curiosity by sharing  NASA feeds from PERSEVERANCE with kids. Many decades after my own childhood I still retain vivid images of moments of space exploration. The power of bringing science to life on the screen for kids today can shape a lifetime.  HERE'S a link to an early 360-degree camera pan of the Mars surface as taken by the main camera on the rover. By the way, one of the main operators and analysts of that camera is a woman!

***  THIS JUST IN  ***   THIS JUST IN **** THIS JUST IN  ***

(That was fun!)

On the very day this post went live, an article appeared in National Geographic to announce that the private space agency, SPACE-X, will include in its orbital crew a young woman whose left leg incorporates metal rod bone prosthetics, following successful treatment of childhood cancer. What a great reminder that only barriers that are insurmountable are ones we set for ourselves.

If you can dream it, you can do it!

Read the article HERE.