Tee Time on the Moon

How Astronaut Alan Shepard Played Lunar Golf

Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Look inside
Hardcover
$18.99 US
On sale Jul 25, 2023 | 40 Pages | 9781662680175
Astronaut Alan Shepard's mission: Fly to the moon. Study it in more detail than ever before. Hit a golf ball in low gravity. But how far? Find out in this engaging STEM/STEAM picture book.

In 1971, Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts made their way to the Moon in the cramped Apollo 14 capsule. Their mission: Study the moon in more detail than ever before. While the world watched on TV, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell gathered rock and soil samples wearing stiff, heavy spacesuits. But Alan Shepard had a secret hidden in his sock: two tiny golf balls. Golf was Shepard’s favorite sport. And since the moon has virtually no atmosphere and gravity that is only a fraction of the Earth’s, a golf ball should have been able to go far. But did it?

Here's the little-known but true story of an experiment that may have started as a stunt, but ended up making people think differently about the moon, ask questions, and look for answers.
David A. Kelly is a children’s book author, travel writer and technology analyst. He’s the author of the Ballpark Mysteries series and the Most Valuable Players (MVP) series. He has also written the early reader Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse and the picture book Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and Secret Mud that Changed Baseball. He has written about travel and technology for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun Times, and many other publications. David lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and two sons. Visit davidakelly.com and davidakellybooks.com. View titles by David A. Kelly
Edwin Fotheringham is the award-winning illustrator of many picture book biographies, including Full of Beans, Blue Grass Boy, and Dazzlin’ Dolly. His work has received the Parents' Choice Gold Award, been named an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and more. He is also the illustrator of the Tony Baloney series by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Visit edfotheringham.com. View titles by Edwin Fotheringham

About

Astronaut Alan Shepard's mission: Fly to the moon. Study it in more detail than ever before. Hit a golf ball in low gravity. But how far? Find out in this engaging STEM/STEAM picture book.

In 1971, Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts made their way to the Moon in the cramped Apollo 14 capsule. Their mission: Study the moon in more detail than ever before. While the world watched on TV, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell gathered rock and soil samples wearing stiff, heavy spacesuits. But Alan Shepard had a secret hidden in his sock: two tiny golf balls. Golf was Shepard’s favorite sport. And since the moon has virtually no atmosphere and gravity that is only a fraction of the Earth’s, a golf ball should have been able to go far. But did it?

Here's the little-known but true story of an experiment that may have started as a stunt, but ended up making people think differently about the moon, ask questions, and look for answers.

Author

David A. Kelly is a children’s book author, travel writer and technology analyst. He’s the author of the Ballpark Mysteries series and the Most Valuable Players (MVP) series. He has also written the early reader Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse and the picture book Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and Secret Mud that Changed Baseball. He has written about travel and technology for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun Times, and many other publications. David lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and two sons. Visit davidakelly.com and davidakellybooks.com. View titles by David A. Kelly
Edwin Fotheringham is the award-winning illustrator of many picture book biographies, including Full of Beans, Blue Grass Boy, and Dazzlin’ Dolly. His work has received the Parents' Choice Gold Award, been named an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and more. He is also the illustrator of the Tony Baloney series by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Visit edfotheringham.com. View titles by Edwin Fotheringham

Celebrating 100 years of James Baldwin

In celebration of James Baldwin, the literary legend and civil rights champion, and the centennial of his birth, we are sharing a collection of his work.   James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes

Read more

The New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

The New York Times recently published their list “100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” We are pleased to announce that there are 49 titles published from Penguin Random House and its distribution clients included in this list. Browse our collection of Penguin Random House titles here. Browse the full list from The New York

Read more