Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon

by Dan Yaccarino

Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Blast Off! I'm on my way to the moon!

With suitcase in had, a little boy races out his front door toward his red rocket ship. After carefully suiting up, it's time to head to the moon! And once all of his adventures are over, it's time to head home again and go to bed.

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Storytime, Childrens, Science, Adventure, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Exhibitions of his work have been held throughout the world. He is also the creator of the animated TV Series Willa's Wild Life and Oswald.

Mr. Yaccarino lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhyming and art in this one makes for a good storytime read. Will tie in nicely with the song "Zoom, zoom, zoom, I'm going to the moon!"

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! I did it with some preschoolers and then did a matching fingerplay afterward where we blasted off to the moon ourselves.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adorable story about a boy who imagines himself going on a spaceship off to the moon and then returning safely back home. This story is written completely in rhyme and would be entertaining for students as a short read-aloud. I also love the illustrations- bright colors with organic shapes. Also, on one of the double-spread pages, the orientation of the book changes to represent the height of a spaceship which I think students would be amazed by. Overall, cute book; however, does not have a lot of discussion or in-depth connections to the real-world.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy grabs his suit case and runs out the door for his trip to the moon. With a bouncy rhyming text and large, brightly colored illustrations, this picture book tells the story of his trip from putting on his space suit to landing on the moon and his celebratory return back home. Little ones who enjoy books about rockets and outer space will especially enjoy the countdown, lift off and landing.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes perfectly with Zoom, Zoom, Zoom and my toddlers will love it. Sparse text is probably not enough for my preschoolers, but I might give it a try because they love the Zoom, Zoom, Zoom song so much.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple rhyming introduction to space travel that works well for very young children. I read it to groups of 2-year olds and their parents or caregivers. It went just fine, but wasn't a big "wow" book.

[Kimberly]

1 sentence per page. 1 page of turning the book vertically. Showcases a little boy going through the steps to go to space, what one can do at space, and then coming home from space. Simple drawings, solid colors.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple introduction to space concepts for toddlers and preschoolers

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prose: Science Fiction

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book for my storytime, afterwards we sang and matched movements for a short song called "Zoom Zoom Zoom, I'm off to the moon!"

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A toddler and up book about a child getting ready for a trip to the moon.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes! Finally a space book I think I will be able to engage the kids with.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In few words, in rhyme, with colourful illustrations, the story is told by a little boy about his flight to the moon and home again in time for bed.

[Calli Leventis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are surprisingly few good readaloud picture books about space. This one hits the spot!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for space storytime. Cute story done with zoom me to the moon rhyme.

[Emily Storytime · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/23/23 - Space
Solid.

[Pinky Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

storytime

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rockets have a lot of cache in my house. Because they are a form of transportation, yes, but also because they are rather mysterious, as I am not sure what parts of space travel are really comprehensible to my 2 year old. But mystery or no, he really loves this book. I like it, too. The text is simple and charming, just short rhyming lines about the various stages of space flight. The pictures are big and colorful. My son’s favorite page is the countdown to the blast off — he really enjoys anything related to counting right now and is especially enamored of counting backward.

His mind may have been blown when I tried to explain the page showing earthrise from the moon. I’m not sure I did a very good job of it, though (thank goodness for books with pictures).

Wait a minute … this book is selling for $60 on Amazon. Is it out of print?! Bummer. We found this one at the library. Highly recommended for a toddler who loves rockets and space ships. Also great for a squirmy kid who has trouble sitting still; you could really whip through this one in a flash if you had to.

More children's book reviews at:
http://www.aliciafinnnoack.com

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dan Yaccarino -- his images are always really charming and bright. This book was a good one to use with the rhyme that it comes from ("Zoom, Zoom, Zoom -- we're going to the moon. Zoom, zoom, zoom, we'll be there very soon. In 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1...BLAT OFF!"). We started with that and then read the story together, and even did some actions (putting on our space boots, etc.). He never disappoints!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming story about a kid who pretends he visits the moon. Good for kindergarten - age appropriate space story with warm and curved line illustrations.

Kids will likely ask about the pictures (why's the rocket falling apart? Are they sinking in water? etc) because while the text is simple, the illustrations show details of his adventure. But hey, now seems like a good time to start telling your kid about space.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy's imagination takes off as he suits up, buckles up, and flies into space to travel to the moon and back. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon! is a brightly colored, sparsely worded picture book that takes us far into space on a man-made spaceship full of anticipation and trepidation.

Used for Dream Big:READ!: Moon Storytime: July, 2012.

[Claire Noland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a favorite with my kindergarten students. I shared it as we finished a transportation theme and moved into a study of space. The kids chose it over and over again during their personal reading time. They enjoyed the catchy rhyming text and the bright illustrations. They made pictures of themselves as astronauts which we tethered to a giant space ship creating a wall mural.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at family story time on 4/25/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at "On the Road" story time on 7/30/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rhyming book about a child who goes to the moon. It has cartoon-ish pictures and tells of a few things that would happen if you were to go to space. It is a large book with short pages, which make this a good book for toddler storytime (or a storytime about astronauts or outer space).

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming text and subject matter make this a solid choice for a space/moon/etc themed storytime.

[Marge]

I'm off to the moon - easy read for the younger set (use What is the full moon full of and Me and my place in space

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaccarino's illustrations are great as always. the story is cute, the rhymes are fun to read, there's a page where you have to turn the book, which is always fun. Bug always loves a good countdown.

[Dianne Norberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the rhyming and how the words were shaped in the book. I think it added something to the story. Very cute story!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy gets in a spaceship and takes a dangerous but exciting trip to the moon.

[Sarah]

Stories & Songs: Moon