Goodnight, Astronaut

by Scott Kelly, Izzy Burton (Illustrations)

“Beautifully written, making a prominent figure readily accessible to children.” - School Library Journal
 
The second picture book from astronaut Scott Kelly follows his adventure-seeking travels through some of the wild places he's slept! Young readers will be delighted by the playful text and encouraging message to dream of the stars.

Scott Kelly was born for adventure. But exploring takes a lot of enery--and sleep is the super fuel to turbocharge dreams. Luckily, sleeping can be exciting if you're drifting off in the right place.

Scott has fallen asleep at the bottom of the ocean, in the cockpit of an F-14 fighter jet, in a yurt on Mount Everest, and of course in space! Join Scott on his many adventures, and maybe they'll inspire dreams of your own!

This sweet and adventurous story is the perfect bedtime tale for future astronauts and adventurers!

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Biography, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2021

About the author

Scott Kelly is a former military fighter pilot and test pilot, an engineer, a retired astronaut, and a retired U.S. Navy captain. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on three expeditions and was a member of the yearlong mission to the ISS. In October 2015, he set the record for the total accumulated number of days spent in space, the single longest space mission by an American astronaut. His identical twin brother is Mark Kelly, also a former astronaut.

Reviews

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the photographs at the end, where we get to see Scott Kelly actually doing all the things he describes in this book. It's truly inspirational.

The book itself is a bit confusing, I'd imagine especially for the smaller kiddos. I understand where he's going with it, but I think Kelly is speaking above the audience he's trying to inspire. Five stars for the effort ("If we dream it, we can do it"), and three stars for the execution.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 3
Illustrations 4

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this story of how a young boy becomes an astronaut, Scott Kelly writes of how he and his twin brother dreamed and explored. Then Kelly begins talking about becoming a sailor, living on a submarine, flying planes, exploring Mount Everest, living in an igloo, living 60+ feet below sea level. Finally towards the end of the book he becomes an astronaut. I, as an adult, finally understood what was happening. But how are children expected to understand the process? He doesn't explain he's doing these things to help prepare for space flight. And then there's this:

"One brother on Earth
and the other above.
One watches over our planet
as the other watches over our families.
Then we switch places."

And he goes on to explain that now it's his turn in space. I thought he WAS the one in space!

Beautiful illustrations accompany unfortunately confusing text.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 for illustrations, which are gorgeous! The narrative definitely could have been tightened up, though. It walks a weird line between inspirational “become what you dream” book, family memoir, and biography, and it doesn’t really work for me.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of an astronaut's dreams and rigorous training that eventually propel him into outer space. I agree with the other reviewer who noted that the tone/narrative of the book could use a bit of refining.

[Amanda Hamrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the idea more than the execution. Often unclear which twin was which / when we had switched characters. A few great flowing lines, others not so much

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by a real astronaut and focuses on his lifetime of training on Earth, preparing for Space. Wicked cool and nice illustrations.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twin boys want to be astronauts, they have lots of adventures together and apart, even after they grow up: sleeping outside in their treehouse, taking a family cruise when they were teens, camping solo, surviving the icy woods together and much more, eventually becoming astronauts.

I felt like I was missing a bunch of background knowledge. The stories about all the places they slept felt disconnected - was that how they trained to be an astronaut? Was it about 1 boy or 2, I had trouble keeping track of who was doing what. I don't think this would hold a kid's interest. The narrative looks like poetry but is prose. The illustrations are well done, but without the text to really support the book . . it just doesn't work for me.

Cross posted to https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Jamie Uribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg so cute love that art style.

I love that Scott Kelly wrote this it's so adorable. A little bit about his life and what he has done so good. I have been following his nasa journey for a while now.


I can not wait too own this book. And read it too my son.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 for the illustrations

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to Scott Kelly read this live tonight. It was neat!

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the posters in the brothers' room. I liked that the submarine cafeteria was called a mess.

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best for kids maybe 7+ so they can understand and be inspired by how this book is basically an illustrated autobiography of two amazing humans.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Astronaut Scott Kelly presents a picture book version of his life and dreams and the training to become an astronaut.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter is obsessed with space. It was fun reading this with her.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The use of illustrations created with Photoshop and a Wacom Cintiq works well in this picture book about the training of astronaut Scott Kelly, the author. The focus on all the different places he has slept while training and while in space gives the book a unique slant and will add to its kid appeal while the anecdotes about his childhood will encourage some of them to dream of following in his footsteps. There are other books that describe the rigorous training astronauts endure, but few of them seem so personal or spend so much time describing those sleeping spots. Because of its title, which brings to mind and also bears homage in some ways to the popular Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, this one is likely to garner many fans. Young readers will enjoy the photos in the book's back matter since they show the various places the author has slept, including in a submarine and later, after he was trained and ready for his mission, aboard the International Space Station where special care needed to be taken to insure that he didn't float out of bed while asleep. The references to his brother, Mark, add interest to the story, but readers will be curious to know more about Mark. Perhaps a note about him would satisfy that curiosity. I was pleased that the young dreaming future astronaut near the close of the book is a girl. Teachers, parents or caregivers might use this one as a title to share on career day or an example of a possible career for the youngsters in their lives. Since this is the author's second book, it might be helpful to share the previous one first.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book by astronaut Scott Kelly shares some of the ways he trained and prepared for living in outerspace through the different places he's slept. From his backyard treehouse as a kid to navy ships and submarines, under the ocean and atop Mt Everest, it's a diverse array of spots he's slept and experienced. This is a unique look at one path to becoming an astronaut and at the adventurous life of Scott Kelly. The illustrations are dreamy and lend themselves to being a goodnight story. This is a book that children dreaming of being an astronaut will enjoy.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Scott Kelly and Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Before I read this book, I had no idea who Scott and Mark Kelly were, so learned something new! I enjoyed reading about the adventures that Scott Kelly embarked on that lead to his becoming an astronaut. The illustrations in this book were beautiful and engaging. The pictures from NASA, the U.S. Navy, and Scott’s childhood were cool as well.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting premise -- the path Scott Kelly took from a space-fascinated child to actual NASA astronaut -- but I it'll help to read the backmatter first or at least know who he is (and maybe his brother, too?) to fully appreciate the story. I appreciated the 'dream it and do it' attitude, though.

[Connor Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that gives a kind reminder of the necessity of sleep, even for adventurers and goal-chasers. Scott Kelly recalls the different places he has slept throughout his life. The places varied wildly because his dreams have taken him all over the world and even into outer space. The artwork was nice as well!

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are fantastic, but the story confused me. Does one have to go into the military as a prerequisite for being an astronaut? What did he mean that the brothers were switching places? Wikipedia says that Mark was also an astronaut. Sooooo ... why wasn't he mentioned at any other time?

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter and I enjoyed this picture book about the life of astronaut Scott Kelly (and his twin brother, fellow-astronaut Mark Kelly). His travels and adventures are inspiring. My child did get a bit confused at times, as the books skips around through the Kelly Twins' lives and doesn't offer much explanation. But, a good read, especially for kids interested in travel and/or space.

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way to go Scott Kelly. With magnificent, familiar and cozy illustrations by Izzy Burton, this book combines some unusual genres: STEM fields; what do I want to be when I grow up; go to sleep; get your rest and nutrition; and by the way, you can be anything that you want: as long as you get some sleep. Scott Kelly has done a great service with this lovely bed time gem.

[Kelly (VanIslandCircus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of Scott Kelly’s life leading up to his career with NASA.

The illustrations are beyond beautiful and only enhance the feeling of adventure and dreams coming true aspect of the story telling.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry and I love astronaut books, YouTube videos and documentary programs like One Strange Rock. We both adored this book. The illustrations and prose are beautiful. Scott Kelly has said goodnight and fallen asleep in a lot of really astounding places!

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is different than what I thought but still very enjoyable. A biography story of two twin boys and their journey to become astronauts. The illustrations were beautiful and really enhanced the story. Best for one-on-one story for lower elementary children.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could barely follow this book. I thought it was talking about one brother with hair and then a different without the hair and then turns out it was just the same guy the whole time.

Also the illustrations make him look like a cancer patient. They did our boy Scott dirty

[Jennifer Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations tell the story of astronaut Scott Kelly. It's on the long side, so better for older children.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story and lovely illustrations.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful cover!