Goodnight Spaceman by Michelle Robinson

Goodnight Spaceman by Michelle Robinson
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Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Lorraine McDonald
Summary: 'Goodnight Spaceman' is a warm and tender look at space exploration told through the eyes of two young boys who have an astronaut for a Dad. With a foreword by the venerable Tim Peake, this edition has strong space credentials. The illustrations are delightful and suitably sparkly however, the book would have benefited from more text. One for those bedtimes when patience stretches only to a very short story.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: April 2016
Publisher: Puffin
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0141365626
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'Goodnight Spaceman' is a warm and tender look at space exploration told through the eyes of two young boys who have an astronaut for a Dad. On the upside, this seems to mean that you get to keep moon rock in your bedroom. On the downside, space is too far to reach out for a hug. So, the boys blast off to see Dad's workplace before bed time. Not only is this topical when the International Space Station currently orbits with a British astronaut on board, there is an introductory letter from the great man himself, Tim Peake. Sounds like a winning formula when for so many tots space is the favourite frontier. I was eager to read this with my three year old.

The illustrations in this book are arresting. The darkness of space provides a great backdrop for some spangle and sparkle in the form of stars and meteorites. The characters are delightful. Soft, warm faces with just the right touch of realism. In addition to the planets, there are rockets galore and a couple of wonderful interior shots of the Space Station. There is just the right amount of detail to look at on each page. My favourite double-page spread sees Dad and the kids suited and booted and off on a spacewalk at the epicentre of satellites, meteorites, lunar capsules and shooting stars.

The text is written in simple rhyme. For me, and more so for three year old's Daddy, this was a bit of a damp squib. It's very sparse. I'm not averse to a short story, especially when I've given in to pleas for just one more book pleeeease Mummy. However, there is a mismatch between the time taken to read the text (and keep the pace and rhythm) and the time the beautiful illustrations require for examination. I'm left not quite knowing who the audience for this book is. The simple rhymes suggest the very young. The introductory letter, indeed the inclusion of a famous name at all, positions this more at the older age range who will almost certainly want or need a bit more to read or be read to them.

Despite the slightly jarring text, there is plenty to like in 'Goodnight Spaceman'. I bet Tim Peake's boys can't wait until their Dad is back and reading it in person.

If more information on space is required you could try Space in 30 Seconds by Clive Gifford and Dr Mike Goldsmith. If you are feeling brave and after another story with the theme of going to bed you might like the edgy Max and the Won't Go To Bed Show by Mark Sperring and Sarah Warburton. You might appreciate The Blackest Hole in Space by Penny Little and Vincent Vigla although we did have our reservations.

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