Picture Book Friday

If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon by Joyce Lapin with illustrations by Simona Ceccarelli honors the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing in this imaginative exploration of an out-of-this-world birthday party.

The narrative traces the adventure from take-off to moon landing and finishes with the return trip to earth. The entertaining romp is also a clever device for introducing young readers to a wealth of facts tucked neatly into the story line.

You’ll make the 239,000-mile journey at 40 times the speed of a plane. Along the way experience zero gravity and then discover that gravity on the moon means a 100-pound person on earth only weighs 17 pounds on the moon. Gravity is so slight that the moon can’t hold onto atmosphere so spacesuits must be worn outside of the rocket ship. Favorite activities for any moon party will be bouncing and gliding in slow motion, exploring craters, and gathering moon rocks for souvenirs. Or perhaps making moon angels in the thick moon dust would be fun. Another possibility would be a scavenger hunt for many things that astronauts left on the moon during their visit.

And, of course, you’ll want to take advantage of the fact that a day on the moon lasts 709 hours, so you’ll have about 30 days to celebrate.  Pizza, cake, and punch pose unique challenges for the partiers when they return to the rocket to eat and the obligatory birthday piñata offers a last look at low-gravity hijinks. 

Text boxes appear on double-page spreads to provide additional details and a Glossary explains terms.

Ceccarelli’s bold artwork provides plenty of visual appeal. A wealth of detail reinforces both the fun and the facts.

IF YOU HAD YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY ON THE MOON is an entertaining picture book with the added bonus of being a delightful introduction to a study of the moon.

Recommended for home and school libraries.