Space has definitely been 'a thing' on this blog. We are an entire family of space nuts, and during the amazing 50th Anniversary celebrations of the first landing on the moon we were lucky enough to be sent a truly amazing book to review.

"Where Once We Stood" by Christopher Riley and Martin Impey did something I wish a lot more history books would do. Rather than resorting to 'gross out' hooks to appeal to kids, this book chose to storify the real-life missions of the Apollo astronauts, describing the very human stories and how the astronauts themselves felt during each mission.

We've seen a heck of a lot of books that go into exquisite technical detail about the exploration of space, but this one stuck in the mind because of the amazing way Christopher and Martin worked together to bring forward those human tales, presented in such a gorgeous way, and utterly immersive - so much so that it feels like you're right there in the minds of those plucky astronauts as they take their first faltering steps on the surface of the moon.

We were lucky enough to visit Cape Kennedy last year, and spent an entire day just walking around awe-struck - at the tech but also at the way the place presents those stories in various exhibits and anecdotes accompanying the dizzyingly brilliant engineering feats that got us all the way to that distant ball of dust and rock. I think this was the first time we'd seen that perfectly captured in book form, and this is most definitely one of our most treasured space books.

Original Review Link: 

ReadItDaddy's Second Space-tastic Book of the Week - Week Ending 19th July 2019: "Where Once We Stood" by Christopher Riley and Martin Impey (Harbour Moon Publishing)

Our second Space-tastic book of the week themed around the moon landings 50 years ago is more than just a selection of facts presented in a fairly cold and sterile manner.

"Where Once We Stood" by Christopher Riley and Martin Impey instantly feels more personal and more human, more or less as soon as you delve into the book.

It tells the story of the 12 brave men who boarded rockets, blasting off to land on the moon. Each mission tinged with uncertainty, danger and risk - but each mission now etched into human history as a set of truly remarkable achievements.

The book begins by showing the landing locations for the missions (including, of course, the epoch-making Apollo 11 mission - celebrating its 50th Anniversary tomorrow), but then becomes more storified as we begin to hear the details of each mission from the communications chatter and anecdotal information provided by the astronauts themselves, brilliantly brought together with Christopher's writing, and Martin's truly stunning illustrations.

Here then, we don't just get a sense of the technical achiements, and the colossal scale of the operation put in place to bring our Astronauts safely home, but we get a sense that for those 12 men, this was something far different to the norm, far more exciting, challenging and life changing than anything else they'd ever encounter in their lives.

Space fascinates us still, and with renewed talk of returning to the moon - this time perhaps as a stepping stone to reaching out further into space, these really are amazingly detailed accounts of each mission, and the book is just so gorgeously presented that it instantly feels like it'd make a fantastic family heirloom to pass down to generations, making sure they all know what it took to put those men on the moon.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A fascinating deep dive into the human stories around each of the amazing moon missions, starting of course with Apollo 11 and our first tentative steps on another world.

"Where Once We Stood" by Christopher Riley and Martin Impey is out now, published by Harbour Moon Publishing (kindly supplied for review). 

Our first Picture Book of the Week this week is a fitting tribute to the hard working women of both world wars who tended our sick and injured, often in perilous circumstances...

Our Second Picture Book of the Week once again draws on the fascinating and tragic history surrounding the First World War from two talented folk who excel at producing the most heart-wrenching and brilliant books. "A Song for Will and the Lost Gardeners of Heligan" by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey...

On the 1st of July 1916, one of the fiercest and most bloody battles of the First World War began. The Battle of the Somme resulted in a terrible and tragic loss of life on both sides and in "Flo of the Somme" Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey also remember the animals involved in the conflict, and how their heroic acts contributed to the war effort on both sides.

"Flo of the Somme" was a well deserved Book of the Week last year in October and you can read our original review of the book here:

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 9th October 2015 - "Flo of the Somme" by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey (Strauss House Productions)

Strauss House have released a book trailer for the title to once again remember those who did not survive the conflict, and respectfully pay tribute to those who did.

Take a look at the trailer below and please do re-read our review.


"Flo of the Somme" by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey is available from Strauss House Productions.

As we respectfully mark the centenary of The Battle of the Somme, one of the most terrible battles of the First World War we explore a book honouring the often unsung animal heroes of the terrible conflict. Our first Book of the Week this week is "Flo of the Somme".

In this centenary year of the outbreak of World War 1, we've seen some astonishingly brilliant children's books that offer factual accounts of what it was like to fight in the mud and trenches of World War 1.

One story often emerges time and time again from the era, that children always want to know more about - that of the temporary truce that existed around Christmas 1914 when German and Allied soldiers met in no mans land, calling a halt to the fighting and finding a common brotherly bond.

Gifts were exchanged, carols and hymns were sung and an impromptu football match kicked off, setting the scene for a story that has now become legendary.

Like "Shooting at the Stars" by John Hendrix, the story takes on an almost supernatural air and we loved the way that Hilary Robinson has written the tale in repeated poetic verse, paying homage to war poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.

This truly is a brilliant book with such a positive message of peace emerging from such a terrible and tragic conflict.

Charlotte's best bit: The heart-wrenching moment when the dove of peace flies over the stricken battlefield

Daddy's Favourite bit: A superbly written and illustrated version of a tale of hope and peace from World War 1 that almost seems too amazing to be true.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Strauss House Productions)

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of World War 1, children's authors and artists have dug deep to come up with many brilliant children's books to ensure that our youngsters never forget the conflict, or the sacrifices made by their ancestors. It's not an easy subject to tackle for children Charlotte's age, though we've looked at several excellent non-fiction books that examine the history to provide facts and figures about the war itself. This is the first fictional title we've encountered, and it's an astonishingly beautiful book.

"Where the Poppies Now Grow" tells the tale of two childhood friends, Ben and Ray, who grow up together, play together - and then go to war together. Hilary Robinson's story slowly builds in prose to tell the boys tale as they deal first hand with the horrors of war. Sensitively written and beautifully illustrated by Martin Impey, we read and enjoyed the story (but I really had to fight hard to keep the tears at bay).

The book triggered deep discussions about the conflict, and what it meant to families to see men - and sometimes boys - heading off to the front, to fight in a war that had such a terrible toll.

It feels like a fitting homage to some of the classic war poems by Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. A timely reminder to us all that the many, many people who died in "The Great War" did so in order that we could live in peace.

It's been asked for again and again by Charlotte, who now wants to find out a little more about members of our family who fought in the First World War (my great great grandfather for instance, who was a gunner and survived the conflict to become a policeman afterwards).

Charlotte's best bit: The boys as old men at the end. So touching.

Daddy's Favourite bit: A hugely important piece of work, absolutely vital to help children learn about and understand the sacrifices made in World War 1

(Kindly sent to us for review by Strauss House Productions)