When I first started reading, I was a bit nervous about the writing style. It’s very simple and straightforward, but it is so good for middle grade readers. Not too challenging, but not oversimplified either. I also really liked the illustrations and that they were colourless – it made me think that Max would probably be happy looking at the illustrations featured in the book too. October 1957: The USSR successfully launches Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting satellite in history. Furthermore, in May 1972, the US and the Soviet Union negotiated an easing of hostile relations. This "thaw" in the cold war led to cooperation between the two nations on future missions, and the space race became a joint venture. The space race and the Cold War April 12, 1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man into space when he successfully completed a 108 minute flight orbiting the earth a single time.

The space race between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) was a remarkable time in history with many far-reaching achievements in science, space exploration, and technology. This timeline shows the twenty-year competition between the two nations. Space race timeline April 1970: The US Apollo 13 mission is known as the first explosion onboard a spacecraft where the crew survived. Besonders gefallen hat mir, wie die Autorin es geschafft hat, aus der Perspektive eines 10-Jährigen zu erzählen und wie authentisch der Umgang in der Familie dargestellt wurde.

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Frank loves soccer, codes, riding his bike, and playing with his friends. His brother Max is five. Max only eats foods that are beige or white, hates baths, and if he has to wear a t-shirt that isn’t gray with yellow stripes he melts down down down. Frank loves soccer, codes, riding his bike, and playing with his friends. His brother Max is five. Max only eats foods that are beige or white, hates baths, and if he has to wear a t-shirt that isn't gray with yellow stripes he melts down down down. Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik (Russian for “traveler”), the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Soviets. In addition, this demonstration of the overwhelming power of the R-7 missile–seemingly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead into U.S. air space–made gathering intelligence about Soviet military activities particularly urgent. The Soviet Union's Luna 16 moon sample return spacecraft (Image credit: NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive)

A tear-jerker about family that shows us things that are important and true, and promotes compassion' - Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times Children's Book of the WeekAugust 1959: The US launches Explorer 6, the world's first weather satellite and obtains the first pictures of Earth from space. Space stations marked the next phase of space exploration. The first space station in Earth orbit was the Soviet Salyut 1 station, which was launched in 1971. This was followed by NASA’s Skylab space station, the first orbital laboratory in which astronauts and scientists studied Earth and the effects of spaceflight on the human body. During the 1970s, NASA also carried out Project Viking in which two probes landed on Mars, took numerous photographs, examined the chemistry of the Martian surface environment, and tested the Martian dirt (called regolith) for the presence of microorganisms. Tom Wolfe at his very best" (The New York Times Book Review), The Right Stuff is the basis for the 1983 Oscar Award-winning film of the same name and the 8-part Disney+ TV mini-series. The addition of references to coding and powerful observations about life, the universe and everything, make this a memorable and satisfying read. Above all, the reader will fall in love with Frank as he sits precariously on the edge of childhood innocence, before being dragged far too soon towards grown-up tragedy.