Book excerpt: You’re one of the brave American astronauts who set out on the voyage of a lifetime in 1970 to land on the moon. After months of practise, they blasted off from Earth to the cheers of bystanders, but things took a turn for the worse and they had to face up to the perils of space travel. This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like as an astronaut on Apollo 13. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.