Alan Bean was both a member of the Apollo 12 team and an artist; this picture book tells how he brought his passions together and shared them with the world. The book opens with the exciting launch of the mission, during which Bean became one of the few humans who has walked on the moon, before it flashes back to the childhood dreams that brought him there. Much of his life after the mission was spent creating art to convey his experience. Author Robbins collaborated in his storytelling with Bean, who, before his death in 2018, approved the manuscript and made his original art available to the project. Rubin's accompanying illustrations are fantastic, created by graphite on board with frequent and skillful use of crosshatching and digitally colored on wide pages. He takes some artistic license (especially with the somewhat fantastical cover) and explains that he was trying to convey feelings and impressions more than exact depictions, just as his subject did in his own paintings. The back matter is strong, comprising source notes, a time line, and a fascinating comparison of space photographs and Bean's interpretation of the same scene. As the story of the only artist ever to see the moon up close, this is a standout among titles that blend art and science, and it reflects the best aims of STEAM.--Andrew Medlar Copyright 2019 Booklist

Robbins introduces Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 astronaut who painted his experience of walking on the moon. Working in an approachable, cartoony art style, Rubin depicts Bean as a boy dreaming of learning to fly, then as a navy pilot and budding painter: "His flowers didn't look exactly real, but he didn't want them to. They were brighter and bolder than real ones." Bean's powerful experience of walking on the moon would inspire many of the expressionistic paintings he later created: "how stunning outer space looked through his eyes." Robbins provides an intriguing look into how some math- and science-based experiences can best be communicated with art. Detailed back matter features photos, images of Bean's painting, and a timeline of the Space Race. Ages 4-8. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A portrait of Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon and the first to express what that felt like in paint.Basing his account at least in part on personal interviews with Bean, who tellingly described himself as "an artist who was once an astronaut," Robbins (who also wrote about our nearest neighbor in Margaret and the Moon, illustrated by Lucy Knisley, 2017) spins a glowing tribute that focuses more on his white subject's artistic aspirations than his outstanding Navy and NASA careers. Having found after his Apollo mission and subsequent experiences in space that "words weren't enough" and photographs likewise failed to capture the "wonder of walking on a new world," Bean turned to a medium that allowed him to experiment with light, color, and even materialssome of his work includes actual moon dust, spacesuit boot prints, and marks created by astronautical tools. Rubin's cover and internal views of an easel actually set up on the lunar surface are fanciful, but along with scenes from Bean's youth and short but electrifying time on the moon, he incorporates versions of some of Bean's space paintings into glimpses of the artist's studio and a gallery exhibition (where some younger viewers are people of color). Further examples are paired in the backmatter to the actual photos that inspired them.Inspiring fare for readers who, as the author puts it, dream of becoming "brave astronauts," "great artists," or both. (timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.