My Journey to the Stars - Hardcover

Scott Kelly is a NASA astronaut best known for spending a record-breaking year in space. He is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and veteran of four spaceflights. Kelly commanded the space shuttle Endeavour in 2007 and twice commanded the International Space Station. He resides in Houston, Texas. You can follow him on Facebook at NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, and on Instagram and Twitter at @StationCDRKelly.
 
André Ceolin is a self-taught illustrator based in Brazil. He has illustrated more than twenty books for children. My Journey to the Stars is his third children’s book in the United States. For more information on André and his work, visit him at andreceolin.com.

K-Gr 2—Astronaut Kelly recalls the early experiences that led up to his joyful return to Earth in March 2016,after spending nearly a year in space. This picture book biography introduces the wiggly, unfocused student who, with his twin brother Mark, enjoyed risk-taking adventure and learned to stay calm in the face of parental storms. It was Tom Wolfe's biography of the Mercury Seven, The Right Stuff that inspired Kelly to become an astronaut. Both brothers joined NASA in 1996 and flew into space four times—separately, "in case something went wrong." Kelly's long sojourn in the International Space Station (ISS) offered a unique scientific opportunity because Mark remained on Earth as a comparison. The first-person narrative is immediate and relatively simple. It opens with the astronaut entering the tiny space ship that will take him back to Earth, flashes back through childhood and training, and ends with a happy splash in his home swimming pool. Photographs from the Kellys' childhood as well as Scott's time in the ISS are reproduced on appropriate backgrounds. Their realism makes an interesting contrast with Ceolin's smooth digital illustrations and almost featureless figures. Timed to appear alongside his adult memoir, Endurance: A Year in Space this story of his preparation and his experience has well-chosen details and just the right amount of information for his intended audience. VERDICT Pair with Carmella van Vleet's To the Stars!: The First American Woman To Walk in Space to inspire a new generation of space travelers.—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD