Space Camp: The Great Adventure for Nasa Hopefuls

From School Library Journal Grade 3-6-- This ``Official U. S. Space Camp Book'' is a prospectus any camp director would give an arm for. In oversized format with plenty of bright, full-color photographs, it follows the excitement and dreams of a team of 12 youngsters through the 5-day camp as they learn, build, and launch their own model rockets, and finally play out their own 1-hour shuttle mission, complete with a couple of simulated equipment failures. The experience would be any kid's dream, but it happens that members of the team followed are predominantly white and male. Baird clearly points out the benefits of developing teamwork and feelings of self-worth, but she does not succeed in making the jobs in mission-control sound as interesting or exciting as those on the shuttle itself. This will have much wider appeal than Kim Long's The Astronaut Training Book for Kids (Dutton, 1990), and may even encourage children to follow its often repeated advice to study hard, especially in math and science. Costs, qualifications for admission, and addresses to contact for more information are not included. --Margaret Chatham, formerly at Smithtown Library, NYCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Kirkus Reviews Billed as ``the Official U.S. Space Camp Book,'' this idealized, enthusiastic introduction to NASA's Huntsville, Alabama, camp features plenty of exclamation points and large, bright color photos, plus some insights (`` `How could [Apollo astronauts] take lying down for so long?' `They wanted to be there...more than they wanted to be comfortable. And they got to fly to the moon' ''). Baird and Koropp follow a group of 12-year- olds through the week-long program, catching them building model rockets to launch ``cricketnauts,'' studying their roles in preparation for a mock shuttle mission, and, after the graduation ceremony, thinking about the various lessons they've learned. The Schulke and McFee's Your Future in Space (1986) and Kim Long's Astronaut Training Book for Kids (1990) are still the books of choice on Space Camp; this is appealing, but readers who want to know more will be frustrated by the lack of a bibliography or an address list. (Nonfiction. 9-12) --