Ham the Astrochimp

Not your usual cute animal story, Ham the Astrochimp would make a great read-aloud introduction to biography, astronauts, or even exploration in an early elementary classroom. This well-written book presents the life and achievements of the U.S.'s first intelligent being to travel in space. While the central, large font text doesn't go into detail about why or how Ham was chosen and trained for the Mercury flights, there are smaller font sidebards that ellucidate this and give the reader many facts about our early space program. The illustrations are meticulous and engaging, as might be expected from a professor of graphic design and illustration. The only thing missing is a bibliography/source notes.