Reaching for the Moon: Lessons from the Chandrayaan Missions

MY THOUGHTS

If your child is interested and excited about all things space and space missions, then you absolutely must have Menaka Raman’s books on your radar. Reaching for the Moon: Lessons from the Chandrayaan Mission is her third book on space, after Topi Rockets from Thumba and How to Reach Mars and Other Impossible Things. We have loved all three books, and I am here to tell you why.

To begin with, Reaching for the Moon is about a ten-year-old student, Valarmathi, who dreams of winning the school science fair. The prize is a chance to watch ISRO’s next launch at Sriharikota, and she can think and talk about nothing else! She is convinced that if she can make it snow in terribly hot Theenkulam, she will definitely win first place! But first, she needs to figure out how to do it. The story intersperses Valarmathi’s science project dilemma with that of ISRO’s scientists’ learnings as they worked on the Chandrayaan missions.

I’ve said this before and will say it again. I love how Menaka Raman takes an issue that is on the mind of young readers and turns it into a book they will definitely enjoy reading. She released How to Reach Mars when the entire country was celebrating Mangalyaan and raised the issue of women scientists. With Forbidden Snacks Society, she centred her story around different kinds of distractions teens face and forced us to look at how far parents will go to rid them of these ‘addictions’. With Reaching for the Moon, she uses ISRO’s Moon missions to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that failure is part of the process and underlines how we must learn from it. Along the way, it is fun to learn a few things about the Chandrayaan Missions as well. The narrative style is interesting and allows the reader to draw parallels. Valarmathi’s ‘making-it-snow-in-Theenkulam’ idea may sound crazy, but I love how the author has shown her putting in the research and effort to achieve it. With a little help and nudge from teachers and friends, Valarmathi and her friend, Siva, pivot their project idea but stay true to their purpose of making Theenkulam cooler for its residents.

Adrija Ghosh’s full-page illustrations bring the characters to life. She switches her colour palette between bright colours, while showing Valarmathi’s storyline, to darker hues when she switches to ISRO’s storyline. I loved how she has managed to capture the essence of small-town Tamil Nadu in the way she illustrates Paati and her attire, Valarmathi with her trademark ring earrings, bindi, and bright top and skirt.

Buy this book for your child so that their interest is piqued about ISRO’s space missions. But also because this is a lovely story about success achieved after failure by putting in hard work. It is also about friendship, perseverance, and achieving a dream. Reaching for the Moon is perfect for readers 8+ and fills the gap in fiction books on science and space for young children.