In Once Upon a Weasel, the Boy dreams of living on the moon—and with the help of his tiny furry weasel friend, they scope it out together. But should you consider traveling to the moon with your pet, there are a few things about lunar life that you might want to consider.
1. The moon and the earth are about 240,000 miles apart. In Once Upon a Weasel, they jet there during the course of a school field trip. But traveling at a reasonable astronaut pace, it would take the Boy and Weasel about three days to get there. (The speed of imagination knows no limits!)
2. Of the many popular myths about the moon, perhaps none is more tasty than that the moon is made of cheese. Unfortunately for hungry boys, girls, and weasels, that is incorrect! The moon’s surface is very hard (even harder than parmesan), much of it igneous rock from lava that was created when huge meteors crashed into the moon billions of years ago. (These are way older than your great, great, great grandparents.) Craters large and small—formed by meteors, asteroids and comets—dot the landscape and are named after scientists, scholars and explorers. Nothing, however, is stopping you from naming some craters after your friends, your family, or your pets. This could bring new meaning to “Lunar Rover.”
3. It can get very hot on the moon! And it can very cold as well. In general, the moon reaches low temperatures of minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit and high temperatures of 260 degrees Fahrenheit. This is too hot to be comfortable in your swimsuit and too cold to stay warm in your thickest jacket. We absolutely recommend a spacesuit when visiting the moon. Don’t forget to get a custom spacesuit for your pet, too.
4. You can jump farther and higher on the moon because there is less gravity than there is on earth. The moon is much smaller than the earth, making its gravitational pull weaker, about one-sixth of what it is on earth. Consequently, things weigh less on the moon than they do on earth. Our 70-pound Boy would weigh just under 12 pounds on the moon, and the 7-ounce Weasel would weigh less than your average candy bar. For safety, you should stay tethered to your pet during a lunar visit. Please remember that a pet weasel is not an actual candy bar. Bring space food in case you get hungry.
5. There are lots of man-made materials on the moon that were left behind by space explorers. These items include all sorts of old spacecraft—rovers, modules, orbiters—as well as cameras, blankets, tools, 12 pairs of boots, five American flags and two golf balls. These items might come in very handy for the Boy and Weasel when building their space colony! What might you do with lunar treasure?
We wish you a safe, fun visit to the moon with your pet. Before you go, we advise practicing your moon walk in your imagination–where not even the sky is the limit! Here’s to the Boy and Weasel’s dreams of outer space, and to yours!
Hungry for more? Check out these links for more fun moon facts for kids:
- https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-distance/en
- https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/moon
- http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-comets-meteors-and-asteroids
Launch into a great new book!
Are you ready to blast off to the moon and beyond with a fantastic, awe-inspiring weasel? Get your copy of Once Upon a Weasel now!