The Astronomically Grand Plan
By Rie Neal and Talitha Shipman
4/5
()
About this ebook
Astrid can’t wait for the school year to start so she can put her Astronomically Grand Plan into action! She and her best friend, Hallie, are going to be in their first year of Shooting Stars, a club dedicated to all things space. Astrid’s big sister has told her all about it, and this year, there is a big, wonderful prize: a trip to a real-life space camp!
But Astrid’s Grand Plan isn’t off to a great start: it turns out Hallie is more interested in the art club, Petite Picassos! And Astrid isn’t sure that her goal of exploring space will happen the same way without her BFF by her side. Can Astrid figure out a way to complete her mission?
Rie Neal
Rie Neal is a children’s book author who loves all things space. Growing up, she was often dragged on her grandfather’s unauthorized tours of NASA’s Ames Research Center, which she didn’t appreciate enough at the time. Eventually, though, she became a full-blown space fan, and began to write space-related books for kids. She also has a doctor of audiology degree from the University of Iowa and is nationally certified as an audiologist through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Today, she lives in the Silicon Valley with her husband and kids, where they drag people on (authorized) tours of the NASA Ames visitor center. Learn more about her books at RieNeal.com or connect with her on Instagram (@RieNealWriter).
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Reviews for The Astronomically Grand Plan
9 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Even though she is only in third grade, Astrid already knows what she wants to do -- become an astronaut. She even has a step-by-step plan of how she'll get there, starting with joining an astronomy club after school with her best friend. But what happens when her best friend suddenly doesn't seem interested?
This is a cute enough story with themes around perseverance, adaptability, understanding, and problem solving. The main character uses hearing aids, her best friend is Asian, and there are other children of color seen in the illustrations, so it certainly does well from a diversity standpoint.
The story is fairly basic, but given it's for a young audience, that makes sense. It is the first in series so there might be more of a dive into the space theme over time, which would be nice given the cover image that seems like it's going to be all about outer space, rather than elementary school friendships. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5First sentence: I tapped my clock for the millionth time: 12:06 a.m. The numbers flashed off like they always did. As if they were mad I'd woken them up.
Premise/plot: Astrid, the protagonist, dreams of being the first astronaut in space with hearing aids. Space is literally all she thinks about. Okay, not fair exactly. She also emphatically wants her friend, Hallie, to be equally obsessed with space and to share the exact same hopes and dreams--Shooting Stars club, Space Camp, Space. But this third grader is to be disappointed in part. Her best friend wants art club, not the Shooting Stars. And she doesn't seem interested at all--not even a little bit--in listening to her friend talk about space. (Did she ever?) So if friendship is important to Astrid, perhaps it's time to make new friends in Shooting Stars.
My thoughts: I liked this one. It has potential. I don't regret my time reading it by any means. I would probably check out other books from the library in this series. I'm not sure I'd be terribly upset if the library didn't order them all. But it was enjoyable enough. I think future books might have more story. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Astrid cannot wait to go back to school : this year she is joining the Shooting Stars, a space club that will allow her to go to Space Camp and one day to realize her dream to become an astronaut. The best thing is, she is going to do all that with her best friend Hallie. But once school begins, the plan doesn’t go as expected : Hallie is joining another club !
I really loved Astrid’s adventures. Rie Neal wrote an empowering STEM-themed chapter book, whose heroine knows what she wants. She encounters problems that will talk to young readers : new classmates, fear of losing old friends and concern to not succeed at school. I love how the book is inclusive. Young Astrid is hard of hearing and uses hearing aids, which doesn’t stop her from having big dreams and working hard to realize them.
The Astrid the Astronaut book series shares a very strong message with young readers.
Book preview
The Astronomically Grand Plan - Rie Neal
CHAPTER 1
FREE FIREWORKS
I tapped my clock for the millionth time: 12:06 a.m.
The numbers flashed off like they always did. As if they were mad I’d woken them up.
I sat up in bed. It was so dark, it felt like I was in a black hole. Not that I’d ever been near one, of course. But I could guess.
Maybe Stella was awake too. If our room wasn’t so dark, it would make waiting easier.
As I stepped out of bed, my foot landed on a tiny, sharp thing. Owww!
I whispered, rubbing it. Couldn’t Stella keep her building bricks on her side? It was bad enough that her half-finished robots made weird shadows in the dark.
I peeled back the curtain, and light poured in. It lit up the stars on our ceiling and the drawing of AstroCat above my bed. The streetlight was so bright, it should’ve woken up my big sister. But the Stella-shaped mound of blankets just rose up and down.
She used to be the one to wake me up for these things. But this past summer it was like she had decided she was too old for everything. She’d started middle school a week ago, and it had only gotten worse.
Better put my hearing aids in, I thought. Then I’d be all ready when our parents came to wake us up.
I opened the box next to my bed and pulled my hearing aids out. My new pair was perfect—dark blue with silver sparkles like the night sky. Last time I’d had new hearing aids, I hadn’t been old enough to pick the color. But I was eight—almost nine—now. Old enough for lots of things.
Clicking my aids on, I heard the tune that meant they were starting up.
My hearing aids helped me hear better. With them, I could hear dogs bark, doors open, and people talk. I could still hear some sounds without them, but not if those sounds were quiet.
The door creaked open, and Mom’s head poked in. Dad followed her.
Astrid!
Mom gasped. How long have you been awake?
Does this mean it’s time?
I bounced on my toes. Can we go up on the roof now?
Mom smiled. Yes.
Dad poked the lump of bedding. Stella, are you coming?
Mmmf,
said the lump. It flopped a pillow over its head.
Dad shrugged.
Come on, Stella!
I pulled on her arm, but she jerked it back. Well, fine. Be that way.
If my sister wanted to skip a family tradition, whatever. I would never do that when I was older.
We have to go or we’ll miss it!
I steered my parents out the door.
We took the elevator up to the roof deck, arms full of blankets.
Two years ago we’d lived in a big house in Arizona. We’d had our own yard, too. I missed Arizona, but our house there didn’t have a roof deck. Arizona also didn’t have my best friend, Hallie. So really, our condo here in California was better.
Before we’d even