Ham the Astrochimp

Written by Richard Hilliard

Narrated by Jodi Dick and Brian David

On January 31, 1961, a three-year-old chimpanzee named Ham made history. Strapped inside a Mercury capsule, the little chimp blasted off into the sky, becoming the first intelligent being to ride an American rocket into suborbital space. Ham made a vital contribution to the United States space program. Because there were so many unanswered questions about space travel, scientists could not risk sending humans on a journey into the unknown. Chimpanzees, however, are very similar to humans in the makeup of their skeletons and internal organs. That made them the perfect space pioneers. Ham forged the way into the outer reaches of space so that human astronauts could follow. In this informative and entertaining book, featuring bold and lively illustrations, Richard Hilliard celebrates the achievement of Ham, the astrochimp and space hero.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490608242

Reviews for Ham the Astrochimp

[hreilly_16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was attracted to this book because I wanted to learn more about Ham and the mission he was sent on. I have wondered about him in the past and was saddened but not surprised to find out that he died a long time ago when I googled him. It's just sad to think that no other animals have gone to space recently. Besides that he is dead I didn't know anything about Ham before reading the book (not even his name, which made me smile) so it was very interesting for me. I was also happy to learn that he lived nearly twenty years after being the first earth creature in space and is buried in Washington D.C. I want to visit his grave the next time I'm in capitol city! This would be a great book to share with a class of any age learning about space exploration.

[jojamo_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary: “Ham the Astrochimp” is the story of a chimpanzee born in Africa and raised to travel into space. He first named Chang, but was renamed Ham in honor of Hollman Air Medical Center where he was trained to go into space. Ham took his first flight into space on January 31, 1961. Ham became a celebrity, but more importantly, proved that living creatures could fly into outer space. Ham was taken to the National Zoo in Washington DC, but was alone and unhappy. He was finally moved to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro to live out his life with a large colony of chimpanzees. Ham was buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Although Ham lived a short life, he paved the way for man to explore space.Personal reaction: The story is like a biography of Ham, but is also had side bars that told more details about space exploration. The sidebars told about the history of space exploration, what happen during certain phases of a flight, and about the returning and landing of the flights. The sidebars also told about the zoos that Ham lived at and about the International Space hall of Fame. I really like the story and think children of all ages will enjoy the book as well.Classroom extension: 1. I would use this book with a lesson about chimpanzees. 2. I would also use this book with a lesson about space exploration.