The Sea of Tranquility

by Mark Haddon, Christian Birmingham (Illustrator)

In anticipation of the first lunar landing, a little boy in London fantasizes about astronauts walking in space, orbiting the earth, and flying to the moon, and one July day, his dream becomes a reality.

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science, History, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Mark Haddon is an English novelist, best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Writers Prize for his work.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty years ago today . . .

Midnight had come and gone,
but the boy was wide awake
and standing at the window
in his dressing gown,
because two astronauts
were walking on the surface of the moon,
two hundred thousand miles
above his bedroom.

A lovely look back at a special event that still gives me chills.

[Nathan Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! A story about a boy who loved to see and think about the moon. I appreciate that there are some page spreads without words, just with images. Space is so cool! It is indeed cool to think about.

[Penny Noel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay story. Not the best I've ever read but it had a few moments that held my attention. Much of it felt like filler and really didn't contribute to the story.

[Randy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved Hadden's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, although that book isn't for everyone. This story won't engage most young readers, but if they like astronauts and such, they might try The Darkest Dark and I'm sure there are others too if you ask any librarian.

[Teolinda Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

En lite småmysig historia om en pojkes drömmar om att åka till månen.
Jag gillar den lugna känslan och tycker nog inte att det är en barnbok, endast ett minne av författarens barndom.
Man kommer lätt in i berättelsen och boken hade inte förlorat på att vara lite längre.
Men som månlandning ger den inte något större intryck.

Betyg: 3 hjälmar som fiskskålar av 5.

Around the Year in 52 books 2025 - 1. A book with a cover that has an image of something that starts with A, T or Y (Austronauter)

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Haddon's autobiographical picture book tells a story I suspect played across thousands of living rooms in America in 1969 as Armstrong and company landed on the moon. A young boy watches and is enchanted. And while Haddon may not have ended up with space as a career, his love of it comes through loud and clear.

[Jordan Vinson]

"Footprints on the moon" is a very fun and engaging story about a boy's recollection of the first moon landing. It describes how passionate the boy was about wanting someone to land on the moon and then shows how it was when they actually did land. It's illustrations are extremely engaging and allow the reader to emerge themselves in the fantasy.
Age Level:3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

[A3TH4N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a children's book, and yeah I may be an adult (or meant to be)

But it was enjoyable


And the art, the art style and illustrations are lovely.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird, ethereal and eerie little short story that is quite good. Would liked it to have been longer but good nevertheless.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely!

[David Haggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christian Birmingham's illustrations wonderfully capture the wonder of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

At least it was very short (20 min listening) but throughout the entire audiobook, there is eerie “space” music playing. Very annoying.

[Sir Vicks of Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent art, sweet and informative story. we liked it.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a lovely book to inspire curiosity in young children about planets and space! It is Mark Haddon’s (author of ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’) recollections of when he was a young boy with a picture of the solar system on his bedroom wall, looking out of his window at night and wondering about the moon above him. He dreams of travelling to the moon and visiting the features he has read about in books. One night the first moon landing takes place and he is fascinated to think that two astronauts are walking on the surface of the moon, two hundred thousand miles above his bedroom.


The language is straight-forward and accessible to independent readers in Years 3 and above, with plenty of colourful and evocative illustrations to attract younger readers. This could be a thought-provoking introduction to Earth and Beyond in science, a starting point for creative writing, role-play, art and many other cross-curricular activities. It’s a brief, simple book on the surface but with lots of potential material to be gleaned from it.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haddon, Mark Footprints on the Moon pgs. 32 Candlewick Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~G

“Years ago, a little boy gazed at the moon, dizzy with the thought that he was looking at a world 200,000 miles away.”—excerpt from front flap hardcover edition

In his eloquent prose, Mark Haddon (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) recalls how as a young boy he longingly gazed at the moon and dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut. Then on July 20,1969 man took a monumental step into history. The beautiful illustrations by Christian Birmingham make the picture book memoir’s ambiance complete.

ELM–ESSENTIAL Allison Madsen~Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago, a little boy gazed at the moon, dizzy with the thought that he was looking at a world 200,000 miles away. As he read atlases and library books and kept clippings on astronauts orbiting the moon, he hoped and hoped that they would find a way to land there. And one extraordinary day they did, captured on his flickery TV, like giants bouncing in slow motion. When the boy fell asleep, he dreamed that he walked with them too. In this lyrical, transporting tale, Mark Haddon, the boy in the story, conveys the thrill of one moment in history through a child's eyes, aided by Christian Birmingham's evocative illustrations. www.hcpl.net

[Alexa Maring · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me think about what it would be like going on the moon and I know it would make students start imagining if they went to the moon as well. Let students imagine, but also use this as a teaching tool about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Though the book itself never states the exact same of the landing, it would be fun for students to investigate on their own about the landing. As the young boy in the book went downstairs three a.m. to watch this wonderful event in history, allow the students to experience the same involvement. Find a video clip of the men walking on the moon to help connect the reality of the story to the students.

[Teresa Gartland]

Footprints on the Moon is a historical fiction picture book. This book is about a boy who dreams of one day being an astronaut and walking on the moon. When Apollo 11 does land on the moon he is able to watch it on TV, later that night he dreams that he is walking on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. I think that this book would work very well to introduce a creative writing piece during the Earth and Space thematic unit. I would read this book and have students pay particular attention to the section where the boy is dreaming. I would instruct the students to write their own story about landing on the moon or another planet.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictionalisation of the author's childhood dream to walk on the moon.

NASA's Constellation program may be planning to return people to the moon for the first time since 1972 - but somehow I doubt that in 40 years time someone will write a picture book about how it deeply affected their lives...

Oh - and I like the new cover much more than the original - I suspect its going to be a long, long, long time before children have the opportunity to walk on the moon!

[Rochelle Sondae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had a fascination with space for nearly 30 years so when I saw this book in the catalog I just had to buy it. I enjoyed Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time when I read it over 6 years ago. I just loved the dreamy soft illustrations.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about dreams of walking on the moon. This would probably be a great read aloud for ages 4 through 7 or so. It left me admiring the wonderful illustrations and longing for the time when Americans (at least those that I knew) were excited about space exploration. A very attractive book with a nice story, fabulous illustrations and no snarky humor. Perhaps a nod to simpler childhood times.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another picture book on the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. This one ranks as one of my favorites, for it is written from a 7 year old boy's perspective. His imagination is ignited by the space program. To read the historical event through his eyes is quite moving. And it helped ignite my son's imagination for all things space and rocketships.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This inspirational story should be a reminder to all children that if you are interested in something, embrace it. Although this little boy never actually went to the moon, he knows more about it than most, and always has a place in his heart for it. Follow your interests, should be the message taken from this story. Would recommend for bedtime, or for 1-3 graders who love to read.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

A child's dreams of walking on the moon like Aldrin and Armstrong come to nothing, probably because the child is British and also because NASA doesn't do that sort of thing any more (if it ever did, of course). He could approach that Beagle bloke with the sideburns from the Open University I suppose, but realistically he's better off just staring out of his window lamenting.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captures the beauty of the moon, its hold on the imagination of the child, the impact of the moon landings and the fact that our childhood loves can last into adulthood. Also, so much work that can be done on varying sentence type, punctuation, precise use and choice of adjectives and adverbs.

[Catherine Woodman]

THis book is a great idea, but not a great rendition. I did not love either the text nor the illustrations. Do not recommend this one.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man remembers his boyhood fascination with the moon and the night mankind first bounced through the dust in the Sea of Tranquillity.

[Clementine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Encouraging.