MAN ON THE MOON

A look at the 1969 moon landing in a consummate picture book that also introduces space exploration, recounts historical events, portrays real people, relates facts, tells a story, and leaves readers with the happiest of endings: ``One small step for man . . .'' Suen's first book accomplishes all this clearly and in a way that will interest even young children: ``Moon, do you remember your first visitors?'' The astronauts are succinctly introduced in well-turned sentences: ``Each had flown in space, but no one had ever touched the moon. No one.'' The suspense of the journey, the marvel of space travel, and Armstrong's historic statement are described in a practical, seasoned fashion. As for the art, expert compositions convey the awesome proportions of space and spacecraft. A variety of perspectives provide drama: the landing as seen from the moon's surface, a close-up of two astronauts circling each other in weightlessness inside the capsule. An author's note and a footnote on perhaps the most famous verbal gaffe in recorded history (Armstrong's ``man'' instead of ``a man'') round out this perfect introduction to space, the space program, and exploration. Thrilling. (Picture book. 3-8)