In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed on the moon to further explore its surface and gather rock samples. Shepard had a personal mission as well: he had smuggled two golf balls and a golf club head, designed to attach to the shaft of a rock scoop, aboard the spacecraft. After completing his scientific work, he assembled his makeshift club and attempted to hit the golf balls. Though his helmet obstructed his downward vision, and his stiff, bulky space suit limited his movements, according to Shepard, his final shot sent the ball "miles and miles," a claim that was later disputed. Still, he became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. Imaginatively illustrated to help viewers visualize the astronauts' journey and their activities on the lunar surface, this picture book includes some interesting facts about the Apollo 14 mission within the text. The extensive back matter briefly summarizes each Apollo moon mission as well as Shepard's career as an astronaut. A fresh approach to the history of space exploration.

Although the book offers a factual recounting of the Apollo 14 moon landing, its true focus is astronaut Alan Shepard Jr.'s personal experiment to find out how far a golf ball can travel on the low-gravity, atmosphere-less surface of the moon. The book starts with a wink as Shepard surreptitiously sneaks a sockful of golf balls into the pocket of his space suit, then goes on to describe the spaceship's aim and the experiments that were planned for the third crewed moon-mission. And then comes the moment when, on live television, Shepard unexpectedly twists a metal golf club head onto the end of his rock scoop, pulls out several golf balls, and takes a few swings. Kelly's well-researched retelling of this unusual story also does a little fact-checking on Shepard, who didn't hit the ball quite as far as he believed but nevertheless became the "first human to play a sport on the Moon." Fotheringham's (illustrator of Most Wanted, rev. 5/20) digital art uses a limited color palette that gives the story a vintage feel. Extensive back matter includes an overview of all the Apollo missions, additional information on Shepard and his golf experiment, and a bibliography.

A historical anecdote that tees off on readers who think that scientists are invariably serious people.The 1971 Apollo 14 mission, the third to land on the moon, had tasks and experiments aplenty lined up, but, as they say, all work and no play…. So along the way, Alan Shepard Jr. pulled two golf balls out of one of his spacesuit pockets, attached a golf club head (a 6-iron, for the curious) to the rock scoop used to collect samples, and let fly. As moon suits of the day didn't allow him to look down at his feet, it didn't go well, but he did get one solid whack…which, according to a measurement made 50 years later by Andy Saunders, a photographer on Earth, went all of 120 feet. As Kelly drolly notes, "Saunders calculated that a good golfer could hit a ball over three miles" on a lunar course. Sure, but (as he doesn't mention) all these years later, it's still a record distance. The author adds plenty of carefully researched detail to a story that is usually barely mentioned in histories, if at all, and, at the end, a very helpful overview of every Apollo mission and what it accomplished. Being as the balls were hit in a vacuum, the sound effects ("POW!") that Fotheringham adds to his painted scenes of figures in heavy suits lumbering over rocky moonscapes are a misleading but minor shank. Everyone in view is White until a final glimpse of a dark-skinned earthly golfer. (This book was reviewed digitally.)More stunt than highlight, but this "eagle" does land. (photos, bibliography, picture credits) (Informational picture book. 7-9)