The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aston, Dianna Hutts.  2008.  THE MOON OVER STAR.  Ill. By Jerry Pinkney.  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 9780803731073

PLOT SUMMARY

Set during the summer of 1969, this picture book tells the story of young Mae and her family as they witness the historical moment of man’s first landing on the moon.  As the whole world waits and watches, everyday life continues for this middle-class African-American family.  While Mae’s grandfather believes the space program is a waste of money, young Mae is filled with awe and wonder.  This touching story reminds readers to reach for the stars in making their dreams come true.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Aston’s story draws young readers in as she describes man’s first landing on the moon through the eyes of a young African-American girl named Mae.  Historical references to John F. Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, and Commander Neil Armstrong help place the story during the nineteen-sixties.  Although no direct reference is made in the text to the family’s African-American culture, the story captures the excitement they feel as they eagerly await Apollo 11’s landing.  This is captured as Mae builds a home-made rocket ship with her cousins and says “We closed our eyes, imagining with all our might the rumble, the roar, and the force of the Saturn rocket, blasting the spaceship into the stars.”  Simple sentences that flow with a lyrical rhythm are used throughout the text to create positive messages that leave a lasting impression on young readers.  When young Mae exclaims “Just think, Gramps: If they could go to the moon, maybe one day I could too!” her grandfather encourages her to “keep on dreaming” as she imagines a world beyond the stars.  This plants the seed in young readers minds to never give up to make their dreams a reality. 

To add depth and life to the story’s positive message, Jerry Pinkney masterfully uses a combination of graphite, ink, and watercolor.  As readers turn the pages, they are met with vibrant two-page layouts depicting the rockets orbit around the moon and the shuttle’s lift off.  Since the text does not make reference to the family’s ethnicity, Pinkney’s visual storytelling allows readers to experience this monumental moment in history through the eyes of a middle-class African American family.  

The illustrations capture and emphasize the dominant theme of family love and loyalty.  Readers see this African-American family together in six beautifully crafted scenes- worshiping together at church, playing in the family barn, helping fix Grandpa’s tractor, gathering together to watch the Eagle’s landing on the moon, and having a family picnic on a warm summer night.  This also passes along the message that they are members of the Star city community.  Pinkney’s detailed illustrations and realistic portrayals create a positive image of African-American children as they are seen smiling and laughing; their facial expressions reveal the excitement and anticipation, their eyes filled with wonder, as they eagerly await for man to step foot on the moon.  

Pinkney’s illustrations also authentically capture physical characteristics of Mae’s family.  Cultural markers are seen in the variation of the family’s skin tone, with some painted a lighter-color than others.  Variations in hair styles and texture are seen as well.  While some family members have black-colored hair in tight, small curls, others have close-shaven, curly hair.  The floral dresses the female family members wear, as well as the plaid and striped collared shirts the men wear reveal that this loving, African-American family is of the upper-middle class.

Although readers do not learn Mae’s name until the story’s ending, it is representative of what the first African-American female in space, Mae Jemison, may have experienced as a young child.  As the story concludes with the final line “It told me to dream,” readers are reminded that everyone’s dreams, no matter their cultural heritage, can affect change. 

REVIEWS AND AWARDS

Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2009 Honor Book Illustrator United States

KIRKUS: “Pinkney's vibrant illustrations exquisitely complement the moving story. The double-page spreads of the rocket traveling through space from Earth to Moon express the enormity of the moment, and the characters' emotions are palpable.”

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “In some of his finest watercolors to date, Pinkney supplies both his characteristically affectionate, realistic portrayals of African-American families and lyrical views of the moon, giving visual form to what Aston evokes: awe.”

BOOKLIST: “Spaced vertically in phrases like free verse alongside the large illustrations, the text combines dignity and immediacy in a clean, spare telling of events. Pinkney's evocative artwork, created using graphite, ink, and watercolor, depicts a black family captivated, and perhaps subtly changed, by the moon landing in 1969. A quiet, satisfying tribute to this milestone in human history and its power to inspire others.”

CONNECTIONS

* Have students read other picture books detailing the Apollo 11 spaceflight and walk on the moon.

Aldrin, Buzz.  REACHING FOR THE MOON.  Ill. By Wendell Minor.  ISBN  0060554479

Floca, Brian.  MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11.  ISBN 141695046X

McNulty, Faith.  IF YOU DECIDE TO GO TO THE MOON.  Ill. By Steven Kellogg.  ISBN 0590483595

* Have students learn more about the first African-American woman in space, Mae Jamison, by having them read the following titles:

Blue, Rose.  MAE JAMISON: OUT OF THIS WORLD.  ISBN  9780761325703

Braun, Eric.  MAE JAMISON.  ISBN  9780736842310

Canizares, Susan.  THE VOYAGE OF MAE JAMISON.  ISBN 9780439045797