![Touch the Sky: Stories Inspired by the Saturn V (...And We Write Anthologies Book 1) by [J.A. Busick, Catherine Jaime, Sandra Clark Boone, Alan Boone, H. M. Jaime, Maria Jaime, Stephanie Barr]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fS44tL09L.jpg)
Touch the Sky (… And We Write)
edited by Jennifer Busick and Catherine Jamie
This is an enjoyable anthology themed by the Saturn V rocket. I could see it being a worthy addition to the Huntsville Space & Rocket Center’s gift shop.
The first short story is “Dreams,” written by Catherine McGrew Jamie, it’s artful piece which bounces back and forth between the very different, and yet congruent, dreams had by both Leonardo da Vinci and NASA’s early human computer Catherine Johnson. It’s a piece of historical fiction that fits the theme very well indeed.
The next story is “A Rocket to Dream On” by Sandra Clark Boone. This is simultaneously a more literary offering and a children’s story, which is nice because I don’t consider the two categories mutually exclusive. Boone is a natural storyteller. This one is just marvelous. The tale of a sickly child with rocket dreams will warm your heart. It goes from the sickroom, to Buck Rogers, to the Saturn V rocket, to an unexpectedly bright future.
“A Dog Named Something” by H. M. Jamie only mentions the Saturn V rocket tangentially, but it’s wrapped up in family life and memories. Very refreshing. In contrast to that “From the Earth to the Moon” by J.A. Busick is a bit of a mystery, set in the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center… with a touch of other-worldly romance. Really nice.
“Rocket City Treasure Hunt” was fun! Clues lead young adult children, worried about their father who is on a perilous assignment, on a wild chase that eventually leads them to the Saturn V rocket and its model for quite a surprise.
Next is “Launch” by Alan Boone. It was unexpected, focusing on the archaic diesel backups for the power needs of rocket launches and a heroic and intrepid engineer that understood that this was a vital tech, still, and staved off a disaster.
The final story was “Nova” by Stephanie Barr. I was pleased to see a familiar character, Kayla: a blind astronaut with a helper cat who borders on having superhero powers. At first run into Kayla in an anthology about heroes with disabilities, and love the character. In this tale she learns that you don’t have to visualize the stars to be inspired while thwarting some space pirates in an unusual way.
All in all this was a fun read, and I would recommended for any middle-school library: it’s so hard to find things for that age group. Adults will like it too.
