SPACE VEHICLES

Using clear language and easy-to-understand illustrations Rockwell (Pots and Pans, 1993, etc.) and newcomer Brion tell us that space shuttles ride the backs of rockets to get into space but that they land like airplanes; that the ""space armchairs"" of science fiction are now regularly used by astronauts to putter around outside shuttles and fix broken satellites; that lunar rovers have wide tires so they can plow through moon dust. With the exception of one scene about weightlessness, in which a cat calmly peruses a book and listens to his walkman -- upside-down -- the illustrations aren't imaginative. But perhaps they don't need to be. This is a lesson in space technology that children will probably take in stride, but which may surprise some adult readers. Should kids be buying this one for their parents?