The stars beckoned Edward White's amazing walk in space

A bouncy rhyme scheme distinguishes this profile of Edward White, "the first American to walk in space," on June 3, 1965. Educator Wellins employs a refrain to convey White's lifelong fascination with the stars and hesitancy to head indoors: " 'Come back in.'/ He'd resist,/ but then he'd go,/ walking back.../ so slow.../ so slow." In short, rhythmic lines, Wellins shares White's childhood activities, including the Boy Scouts; his famous pilot father's influence on White's U.S. Air Force career; and his eventual work with NASA, detailed in back matter. Digital illustrations by Dawson have a cartoonish appeal; subtle airbrush textures enliven the art. Though this picture book conveys slim biographical information, it's an introduction to a space pioneer that's ideal for the youngest nonfiction readers. Back matter includes a historical note, timeline, and bibliography. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)

A look back at a child who loved to look at the stars and grew up to become the first U.S. astronaut to walk in space. In Wellins' rhymed narrative, and also Dawson's views of a wide-eyed child and then man looking up and out in nearly every scene, biographical and technological details take a back seat to expressions of a bright and enduring sense of wonder--so that whether it was his mom or, later, Houston telling White it was time to cut the stargazing and come back inside, he always went "so slow…so slow." The author ends by underscoring his attachment to family ("Moons and stars / are lovely places, / but not as nice as / children's faces"), reserving mention of his tragic death in the Apollo 1 fire for the closing historical note. The astronaut and his family are White in the illustrations, but most of the figures placed around him as an adult at NASA and elsewhere are people of color. Readers will have to look elsewhere, in more-developed profiles of the Apollo missions or the late Kathleen Krull's Fly High, John Glenn, illustrated by Maurizio A.C. Quarello (2020), for instance, for rounded pictures of the early space program's heroes; White himself comes off here as a cardboard figure, but the main story is really the heights to which his profound fascination with the night sky led. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 85% of actual size.) The right stuff for children with the stars in their eyes. (timeline, photographs) (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.