A Rocket Trip to the Moon
Geraldine Russell, pictures by Shiba Productions
Golden Press, 1970
We've talked about Shiba Golden Books before, and recently I acquired one I remember seeing in a Crafty McGee post about "five daring astronauts and their dog Astro" taking a rocket ship to the moon. You'd have to be a true Scrooge not to find mounds of joy in these lively little spectacles of awesome. Articulated puppets acting out motionless plays in miniature worlds. (Which --by the way and off the subject-- are reminiscent of another of my son's favorite Disneyland romps... the uber-adorable and enchanting Storybook Land Ride. Man, I could move right into that wee Three Little Pigs house! Talk about cozy... but I digress.)
Who knew going into orbit meant partaking in chocolate milkshakes from squeeze bottles? Sign me up! Slapping you right back to the swinging seventies, the fabulous puppet action just gets more and more thrilling once they make their lunar landing. 
The crew put on their helmets and back-packs and went out to explore the moon's surface. Their moon tractor carried them over rocks and in and out of craters.The astronauts put on their jet packs and zoomed to the top of a high mountain. Something was moving in a cave! It was only Astro.
Though there's no lenticular cover on this read, the puppet action is still thrilling to see. Plus, it reminds me of a choice Kiddie Record's Weekly pick called George Pal's Desination Moon (2005, week 46). And nice that my cement patio totally looks like the surface of the moon. How cool is that? Happy happy day!
I love puppet books (er... I mean, my kids, yeah, that's it... my kids love puppet books), and they are pretty hard to find in nice condition. We only have about four, but I always look for them at the thrift stores.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. I am looking for designs that I like for my new blog and I am adding this one to the list.
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! Where do you FIND these things? So great.
ReplyDeleteBrought tears to my eyes--because this was one of my favorites as a kid, and I completely forgot about it (and must have lost it...)
ReplyDeleteThere's a 1966 copy of The Little Mermaid on eBay right now in excellent condition...seller name is childhoodnostalgia...
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