The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean, written by Dean Robbins and illustated by Sean Rubin. Orchard Books, Scholastic 2019. $23.99 ages 6 and up

"The Moon was barren, but also beautiful in its own way. Gray dust as far as he could see. Thousands of black craters. Hard white sunlight. and everything perfectly still. Alan and Pete pushed a red, white, and blue American flag into the dust."

Others may have known that Alan Bean was an artist. I did not. That is what impresses me about the range of picture book biographies being published for our children and students. Through them, we learn about people we may not have known previously. I know that, once again, I am late posting this as the anniversary of the moon landing was celebrated last year. It does not make the book any less worthy of our attention; it is, in fact, quite fascinating.

Alan Bean was the fourth man to walk on the moon; he was also the only man to paint what it looked like when he took his first steps there.

"My paintings record the beginning of a quest
never to end, our journey out among the stars."

Alan had always dreamed of this moment, training for many years and studying as a scientist to take his turn at space travel. His love of model airplanes and his dreams of being a pilot led to navy flight training. He also loved to paint, crafting images that were often unlike what other artists were creating.

As the astronauts got closer to the moon, Alan prepared to step out of the hatch. The two took many photos of the strange environment, and made many discoveries about personal movement and strength in a brand-new atmosphere. Once back to earth, people asked many questions that he could not answer with words. He used his artistic talent to try to show what he had seen, and how he felt while there.

"The only artist ever to see the moon up close.
Maybe a painting could show how it felt to be in outer space?"

He did just that, affording new dreams for children who saw his work. Alan Bean died in 2018; his artistic legacy continues to inspire others. Back matter includes an author's note about the astronaut/artist, and pairs his paintings with photographs taken on the moon. All are accompanied by quotes from the artist himself. A timeline for space exploration, and a bibliography are also included.

Text and art work brilliantly together in bringing Alan Bean's life as a scientist and an artist to life for young readers.