FROM THE PUBLISHER

Three, two, one . . . lift off! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first moon walk on July 20th with this 3-D extravaganza of space exploration facts. Unfolds to four feet and hangs by an eyelet at the top. NASA photos.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

This, called a giant pop-up, fold-out book to read and display, is a book only because its contents; it can fold down to 7 1/2" by 15 1/2," making it marketable as a book. It is not a book that has pages that open from right to left. This is a single 14" by 48" sheet of stiff coated paper that unfolds out, down and up from its book-like cover to become a hanging history of space travel. It is cumbersome and must be handled very carefully to avoid damage. Having said that, it is a fascinating and colorful presentation in pop-ups, photographs, charts and artist's projections of the history of successful space travel beginning with the 1957 launch of Sputnik II and looking forward to the future of an international space center projected for the year 2003. It does not touch upon the long years of unsuccessful attempts at getting into space; but it does, by presenting a chronological history, remind us that throughout the short history of space travel, the U.S.S.R. led the way with the first orbit of earth, first manned space flight, first woman in space, first space walk, first space death, and the first successful launch of a space station. You could look it all up in Journey into Space. 1999, Candlewick Press, $17.99. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Eleanor Heldrich