Writing Wednesday: Using MOONSHOT as a Mentor Text for Writing

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

By Brian Floca

Atheneum, 2009

This narrative nonfiction text tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission from Earth to the moon and back again. It is a very poetic but very informative text of this landmark event in history. It’s not only beautifully illustrated, but the language is spectacular.

My two favorite lines in this book are:

 

Description of Eagle as it separated from Saturn.

“… Eagle, hidden till now,

a stranger ship, more bug than bird,

a black and gold and folded spider.”

 

Description of Eagle landing on the moon:

“Eagle slows and lower goes until a spray of dust,

a bloom of moon, flowers up around her.”

Writing Skills:

* Description

* Sensory Words

* Onomatopoeia

* Specificity

* Vivid Verbs

* Word Choice

* Note: Brian Floca also wrote and illustrated LOCOMOTIVE, which just won the 2013 Caldecott Medal and received a Sibert Medal Honor.