Book Review: Astronaut Annie
Author: Suzanne Slade Illustrator: Nicole Tadgell
Book Description:
Annie’s joyful exuberance and her family’s whole-hearted support leave no doubt that her dream is within her grasp. This delightful story—with backmatter about women astronauts—encourages young readers to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars.
Career Day is approaching, and Annie can’t wait to show her family what she’s planning to be when she grows up. But, she must keep it a secret until Friday! So curious family members each ask Annie for a clue. Convinced that she’ll be a news reporter like he once was, Grandpop gives her his old camera and notebook to use for her presentation. Grandma is sure Annie wants to be a champion baker like her, so she offers a mixing bowl and oven mitts to Annie. Hopeful she’ll become the mountain climber he aspired to be, Dad gives Annie an old backpack. Mom presents Annie with a pair of high-top sneakers to pursue Mom’s favorite sport in high school — basketball.
Grateful for each gift, Annie cleverly finds a way to use them all to create her Career Day costume. When the big day arrives, Annie finally reveals her out-of-this-world dream to everyone.
My Review:
My four year old son and I read Astronaut Annie and he quickly picked up on the story repetition. The story structure allowed us to make predictions as to what family member would be next and what they would add to Annie’s story. The last few pages were truly magical. We LOVED how creative and considerate Annie was in making her Career Day costume. It was cleverly designed to incorporate everything her family gave her, yet allowed her to dream her own adventure. The additional information about women astronauts allowed us to have an excellent discussion, going beyond the book. We are happy to have added this to our family library.
Disclaimer-Maria was provided with a review copy of this book to create this honest review.