When all her classmates write to the other Apollo 11 astronauts, Mamie writes to Michael Collins who will stay in the spaceship and not be able to walk on the moon. Through her letters she learns about herself, her family, and her friends.

I Love You, Michael Collins is a middle grade novel by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. It’s 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie’s class is given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts. All the girls write to Neil Armstrong, all the boys write to Buzz Aldrin. Only Mamie writes to Michael Collins, the astronaut who will come so close but never achieve everyone else's dream of walking on the moon, because he is the one who must stay with the ship. After school ends, Mamie keeps writing to Michael Collins, taking comfort in telling someone about what's going on with her family, her best friend Buster, and her cat. And as the date of the launch nears, Mamie can't help but wonder: Does no one stay with the ship anymore?

I Love You, Michael Collins is composed of Mamie's letters to astronaut Micheal Collins. I think many of us who have journaled (on paper or digitally) knows how cathartic it can be to share the events and feelings that are effecting us, even if we think no one is reading or listening. Mamie is sharing the chain of events that take up her summer via letters to a figure that might not ever read, never mind answer, her letters. However, I think her writing down of the events are what help her process and survive a rough summer. The family troubles she goes through give readers a realistic, historical glimpses of the expectations and view of the era, combined with family dynamics that are similar to what some readers might be dealing with themselves. I am not always a fan of books in letter, or journal, format. However, I think the need for connection expressed by Mamie in these letters and the lovely conclusion, make it work beautifully. I felt for Mamie through out the book, and just might have shed some tears for her, because who has not felt like the one left behind?

I Love You, Michael Collins is a well written and touching historical read for the middle grade crowd, and one that I thing will still resonate with readers no matter when they read it. This book will stand the test of time, and just might be a classic in school and public libraries in the near future.

And with this book I am officially done with my 2017 NetGalley and Edelweiss requests. I have started some 2018 but I can focus on some 2017 stragglers in my piles in my room - mainly those that publishers have sent that no one has gotten to and maybe a few that I know will end up on our shortlist (or shorter books - poetic narrative, graphic novels). How many more books can I read before our January 20th MSBA meeting ;0
This was a great book. My one complaint is that some of Mamie's letters are really long and would she really keep writing to Michael Collins everyday? Maybe because of the situation she was in...
Mamie's class has been asked to write a letter to one of the 3 astronauts going up in Apollo 11. Everyone chooses Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong. Mamie chooses Michael Collins mainly because no one else does. After her initial letter Mamie keeps writing to him - it is her way of sharing her discoveries and processing the events in her life including her mom's leaving.
There is a lot to love in this book. Mamie is an honest character and her friendship with Buster is lovely. While there is a lot of chaos around her Mamie is able to "stay with the ship" much like Michael Collins did.

When Mamie's teacher assigns the class the task of writing to one of the astronauts on 1969 Apollo 11 mission, Mamie chooses Michael Collins. Thus begins a summer long one way dialogue on Mamie's part. Even though the '60s overflowed with civil rights demonstrations and antiwar protests, the main plot points revolve around family issues, friends, and the moon shot.

What a relevant and thought-provoking read! I regularly discuss the history of the "first men to walk on the moon" and specifically discuss Michael Collins's important role in the mission. This book further delves into his role and helps to clarify the importance of his job while his two fellow astronauts, perhaps, got the ultimate glory.
By using Apollo 11 as the background, the author did a superb job of intertwining the family story with it. It will be especially interesting to see how the student readers react to the unintentional abandonment of 10 year old Mamie by her family.
The book is heartwarming and the ending so fitting.

It is 1969 and Apollo 11 is getting ready to launch. Mamie's end of school assignment was to write to one of the astronauts. She chose Michael Collins because everyone else chose Buzz Aldrin and Neal Armstrong. She continues to write to Collins throughout the summer, sharing details of what is going on at home. And boy is a lot going on. Her oldest sister Eleanor has moved out and gotten a job as a secretary. Middle sister Bess sleeps most of the day or hangs out with her boyfriend Vinny. Mom wants to celebrate the launch of Apollo 11, but dad thinks it is all a big waste. Mom finally gets frustrated and moves to her sisters two states away. Dad follows a few days later leaving Mamie home alone with only the sporadic intervention of her sisters. Mamie spends her days playing with her neighbor and best friend Buster and researching the Apollo mission.

Mamie's story works on a lot of levels. The details are superb and the author includes all kinds of things that kids today might not even realize were big things in the 1960s. Things like no air conditioning and moving a fan around the house or how big a deal it was to upgrade to a color TV or the novelty of frozen dinners or leaving the phone off the hook when you leave the house. I loved all the detail and how resilient and resourceful Mamie was. I also liked her justification in picking Michael Collins as her astronaut of choice. What I didn't think worked as well was the epistolary style of the novel. For one thing it is only letter style because she has salutations at the beginning of the chapters. Otherwise it is formatted just like a regular novel. I think epistolary novels only work if they are actually written in the form of letters. Slapping a "Dear" and a "From" on the beginning and end of a chapter doesn't really make it a letter. Despite that the book is charming and worth the read.

Thanks to Library Journal and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I Love You, Michael Collins is a beautifully-crafted exploration of one girl's summer. Mamie is the perfect heroine for the story. She is brave and self-reliant, but we can see the struggle for courage and the desperate desire to feel needed and loved. Her friendship with Buster is a central theme throughout the story. This historical fiction is well-timed with an increased interest in space and space exploration, yet the heart of the story is one that every child can relate to. This is a must-read!

I really liked the realistic look at the trip to the moon. For many of us, we were raised knowing that the space program was a success. I was awaken to the different opinions about the cost and the children's mindset at the time. It was entertaining and I learned much from the book about what it would have been like to idolize an astronaut!