I've noticed, especially when doing an author appearance at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, I spend a lot of time with kids who don't carry around $27.95 to buy a book. Even so, I have a great time showing them the picture section inside Rocket Men, and explaining how the cover accurately shows the sky on the Moon as being black as velvet, and other things you do to get kids excited about reading. 

 

Yesterday, however, a very serious little boy grabbed the book all by himself. He gave me an eye like some District Attorney and asked, "Did you really write THIS?" He examined every aspect of the book  for a VERY long time, and then went to consult with his father, becoming more and more excited about buying Rocket Men and meeting the author, getting so carried away by the whole experience that his little sister started yelling that she needed to get one, too. His father kindly asked if he could take pictures of me with the kids and the book and I said, "You betcha." Finally, I asked the boy what name he wanted inscribed, and he said: "Mine. Krishna. K-R-I-S-H-N-A."

 

Craig Nelson, Rocket Men, Apollo, NASA, moon landing, Penguin Books