Earthrise
The Story of the Photograph That Changed the Way We See Our Planet
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning historian Leonard S. Marcus, Earthrise is a unique middle-grade nonfiction book about the astonishing photograph taken during the Apollo 8 mission that forever shifted the way we view ourselves and our planet.
Gazing out the window of the Apollo 8 spacecraft on Christmas Eve, 1968, NASA astronaut Bill Anders grabbed his camera and snapped the iconic color photo of our planet rising over the lunar horizon. Not long after the crew’s safe return, NASA developed Anders’s film and released “Earthrise” to the world. It soon became one of the most viewed and consequential photographs in all of human history, inspiring the first Earth Day in 1970 and boosting the global environmental movement. In the decades since, this incredible photograph of our small yet beautiful, familiar yet strange, “blue marble” has moved billions to rethink their understanding of our home planet, and even their very idea of “home.”
A companion to Marcus’s acclaimed Mr. Lincoln Sits for His Portrait—a unique biography of America’s sixteenth president centered around one famous 1864 photo—Earthrise uses the same technique of exploring a key moment in US history through the lens of an iconic photograph. This rocket-paced, compact, and highly accessible nonfiction book includes a trove of black-and-white images and related materials throughout.
This is perfect for elementary and middle school kids ages 10-14, or in grades 5 through 8, who love:
● Outer space, astronauts, and STEM-related books
● Fascinating dives into American history
● Quick and engaging nonfiction reads
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this visually fascinating read, Marcus (Mr. Lincoln Sits for His Portrait) recounts the history of the titular photograph. Beginning with an introduction about the notoriety of Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11, the author encourages readers to turn their attention to Apollo 8's Bill Anders, who, on Christmas Eve, 1968, photographed his home planet while 23,900 miles away in lunar orbit. Anders's fellow crew members were "awestruck by the never-before-seen sight of the Earth rising over the Moon's horizon"; the image, which was printed in newspapers around the world, shifted public perception surrounding the cosmos by depicting Earth "as an object that was small, fragile, beautiful, and floating alone in an otherwise airless, and infinite universe." Subsequent chapters outline the history of the space race and the individuals who influenced it; insets briefly touch on related information, such as Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth aboard Sputnik 2. Using reverent prose punctuated by numerous b&w photographs with detailed captions, Marcus notes how the picture not only inspired the creation of the first Earth Day in 1970, but also "changed the way people understood their place in the universe." Ages 10–14.
