“Field Trip to the Moon,”
by John Hare.
Holiday House, New York, 2019, 40 pages, K-2.
Wordless picture books are effective in teaching subjects to students unable to read.
Since the illustrations carry the entire story, wordless picture books must have outstanding illustrations to keep the students’ interest. The story is seen rather than read and this allows children to expand their imaginations. The artist takes learners on a trip that is usually adventurous and fun. This is part of the reason that wordless picture books are so popular with young (and older) students. John Hare’s creation, “Field Trip to the Moon” is such a book. We see a group of young explorers on a school bus, travelling to an adventure.
The yellow school bus arches through the atmosphere toward outer space. It soon lands on the moon. The teacher lines the children in single file and they begin walking across the lunar landscape. Everyone is wearing a spacesuit which makes the group easy to identify on the moon’s surface.
One girl carries her sketching pad and crayons. She is determined to draw all of the exotic sights that the group is encountering. The teacher keeps directing the group’s attention to various mounds, shapes and craters on the surface. These sights are so interesting to the girl that she sits down and begins drawing the geographic forms.
As the class reaches a crevice, the teacher and the rest of the students jump over the cleft. The class keeps journeying while the girl continues to color the landscape of the moon and the lovely blue shape of the earth. But all of this drawing tires the child and she soon falls asleep. The rest of the class heads back to the school bus for the return trip to earth.
Upon awakening, the girl realizes she is by herself. Suddenly the shapes of the mounds begin to look like creatures. Are they friendly? To find out, she hands crayons to them. Will they start to color or eat the crayons? Where does this lead? And where is the school bus?
Are the creatures friendly? Does the teacher ever figure out that a student is missing? Where do the moon rocks get some new marvelous colors and designs? Have you ever been alone? How did that make you feel? What does the child experience? To find out, go to the library and check out this delightful wordless picture book, “Field Trip to the Moon” by John Hare.
“Field Trip to the Moon” has been named a Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association. It brings back fond memories of the famous Magic School Bus series by the recently deceased author, Joanna Cole. The book is great fun to read and to share with younger children. It would make an excellent book to build imagination as the pictures lend themselves to children making predictions about the next events in the story. Go to the library and check out this enjoyable book. Let us hope John Hare will lead us on as many delightful adventures as his literary predecessor, Joanna Cole. Have fun!
