Eight Days Gone by Linda McReynolds and Illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke. Ages 5 – 8 (2.5 year old son loved it). Charlesbridge Publishing. July 2012. 44 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1580893657. Nonfiction. $7.95 (Paperback)
Quick Summary: This picture book is about the Apollo 11’s space mission to the moon in 1969. It’s written in rhyme, has a great rhythm to it, and the illustrations are stunning.
Our Experience Reading this Book: We highly, highly recommend this book. I really love reading this book to my son (over and over and over again). The author makes great use of rhyme to make the landmark mission to the moon accessible to everyone without dumbing it down.
“Michael Collins stays with ship. Waits, observing, tracking trip.”
It is also an exceptionally beautiful book with a retro feel to the illustrations.
The vocabulary is excellent. My son and I talked about the following words used in this book: sprawling, bulky, fasten, lunar, desolation, tranquil, barren, stark, quarantine, and data. I am very impressed with the author’s word choices especially considering there aren’t a lot of words in the book. This book also had my son asking why astronauts need helmets — which led to talking about why there is no air on the moon. I loved how this book inspired a lot of interesting discussions between me and my son. It’s a fantastic introduction to Apollo 11’s lunar landing.
It’s an entirely appropriate and wonderful book to read to any age. I think everyone will enjoy reading and learning from this book.
Where Obtained: Library. Random pick.
FTC Disclosures: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Author/Illustrator Website:
- Linda McReynolds: http://www.charlesbridge.com/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=648
- Ryan O’Rourke: http://www.ryanorourke.com/8-Days-Gone-1
Some of my Favorite Reviews of this Book:
- http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2012/07/eight-days-gone-review.html
- http://pclkidsbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/eight-days-gone.html
- http://laurasalas.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/eight-days-gone/
- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/linda-mcreynolds/eight-days-gone/
- http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-58089-364-0
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I’m linking up this post over at:
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday.
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted over at Kidlitfrenzy.com.
Please go visit and hook up a nonfiction picture book review of your own and see other nonfiction picture book recommendations! This is a great resource and Kidlitfrenzy is an amazing blog!
I’m also participating in the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2013. I’ve set my goal for 25 books. This is book 3 of 25 since signing up for the challenge.
The Picture Book Review 
Once again, I am so grateful for your recommendation! You always point me towards great books, and this one looks fantastic!
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate you reading and taking a moment to let me know that you like my recommendations. 🙂 You have made my week!
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This one looks great! A rhyming non fiction book! I don’t think that I have ever encountered such a thing. And i really like the idea! Thanks for this nice review! I’ll be checking this one out!
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I’ve been thinking about this and I can’t think of any other rhyming nonfiction books either. I’m on a new mission to find more rhyming nonfiction books. 🙂
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Thanks for the introduction to Eight Days Gone. I’ll be looking for this one!
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🙂 My pleasure! Thank you for stopping by. Happy Reading!
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This sounds like a fascinating read. Thanks so much for introducing it to us. I will look this book up next time I go to the library. Love non fiction picture books. I have a biography up on my site right now. I love how kids are turned on by true things and stuff to learn about. this sounds like it was a hit in your house. Even though I don’t have anyone to read to I think I will love it. 🙂
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Thank you so much for stopping by.
The picture book about Christopher Newport looks very interesting. Thank you for writing about it on your site. It sounds like a great book.
I’m definitely amazed at children’s reactions to nonfiction. It’s so much fun. 🙂
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This sounds great. Thanks for sharing the review and linking up with the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.
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My pleasure! Thank you for hosting it! Also, thank you for recommending What To Do About Alice? My son loves this book (and so do I).
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Just came across this review of my book and wanted to say thanks! Happy to hear that you and your son enjoyed it and that it sparked further conversation and exploration. Yay books!
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