‘The Race to Space: From Sputnik to the Moon Landing and Beyond’ by Clive Gifford with illustrations by Ian Murray is mostly about the space race of the 1950s and 1960s, but it tells it from different perspectives.

The story of the space race is one of the Soviet Union pitted against America. This book takes a child’s perspective and tells the story in bite-sized chunks with some really nice illustrations. Told from the US and USSR perspectives through a mostly chronological perspective, the reader sees the development of space travel as well as the terrible cost that it can have. When man finally gets the moon, the book starts to wind down and shows how these two rivals assisted each other with joint missions, including building a space station.

I liked the retro design of the illustrations in the book. I also liked the flags being used to denote which country we were reading about. There is obviously a lot more that could be written and I feel the book does a pretty good job of distilling the facts into a timeline for younger readers.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto - words & pictures, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

With the anniversary of the moon landing this year, there is no shortage of new space program books for young readers. This particular effort is more than worth the time it takes to read. We start with the Cold War and it's influence on what would become the Space Race. We are presented with each achievement and failure, in chronological order, by both the American and Russian space missions. The reader can then see how each attempt by one team influenced future efforts by the other team. There is not much detail about each mission, of course. This is only a brief overview, but its still a compelling read and a great starting point for young readers with an interest in science and/or history. I can't wait to put this one in the hands of a couple of young readers I know.

This event-by-event description of the space race emphasizes the original rivalry between Russian and U.S scientists and then their later collaborations. Focusing on the race to the moon, readers learn about both triumphs and setbacks. Because of the book’s factual emphasis on what happened, readers do not get to feel the drama and excitement of these space adventures. Photographs and more information about specific astronauts and scientists would have made the book more appealing. Nevertheless readers will learn about the early history of our space program.

This book recalls the exciting space race by the former Soviet Union and the United States to reach the moon. The details are presented in chronological order. The book would have benefited from illustrations with real newspaper headlines or magazine headlines along with the summary provided by the author.. Real photographs would have been an asset for the book. Great introduction to the space race.
This review is provided on Netgalley.

Review /
A children’s nonfiction book that discusses how we got to the space age. It starts with the wars, Russia and the USA to the moon. It is informational dense with illustrations to break apart the text.

I remember when nonfiction text meant real life pictures. Is it easier to have someone do illustrations than have images from the time period? I don’t know enough of that to comment on it.

It keeps text readable and easy to digest. There is no cartoonish fonts or odd placed text that would make younger readers struggle to read/comprehend the text. Which is a positive mark in my book when it comes to books, especially, nonfiction books.

Why it’s good not to Silly, curly or overly decorative fonts: It can be hard for students to decipher which prevents them from being able to engage with the text.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Downloaded through Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Space Race charts the competition between Russia and the US to reach space, and although this publisher is usually really good at creating non-fiction books for youngsters that are informative but also visually stimulating to keep a child's interest. Here, I felt the ratio of text to illustrations was slightly off. This is a text-heavy read which I feel would've been better targeted at an older age group because of this.

That said, everything is explained in simple terminology that kids will understand and digest and there is a lot of sound information included. I also wasn't that fond of the illustrations but that, of course, is personal preference, however, it would've been beneficial to include photographs as they are very different to drawings; they have a big impact on.both children and adults. Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - words & pictures for an ARC.

This is an interesting and informative reference guide for young readers wishing to learn about the famous space race.
It is information heavy and perhaps lacks some illustrations for this to be a book for all, but it does at least break down the information into digestible chunks.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I thought the book offered a lot historical facts regarding the use of missiles and the quest to explore out of space. The author includes pictures and quotes to make the storybook easier to digest but I felt that it could have used brighter pictures and less text to make it more attractive to young kids. It is still a good reference book for those looking for a quick historical guide.

This is a stunning book documenting the Space Race between Russia and the United States- beginning after WWII and continuing through to the construction of the International Space Station. Russia and the US, competed against each other in the race to explore space and the moon. Rivals for a long time but now relying on each other to further this exploration of space.

The illustrations are stunning, bold and colourful. They bring an interesting subject to a new generation of space explorers. Children can access the short snappy facts alongside the brilliant pictures.

As we near the anniversary of the lunar landing, space is becoming hugely popular and children are keen to learn more about this new frontier. New books are needed to continue this interest, especially one like this with its excellent layout and use of illustrations.

I loved the use of quotations from key people in the space race- some are etched in our minds and it is important new generations understand this part of history.

Fascinating and thorough- it is one to enjoy for all ages.