Legend of Wan Hu

This nonfiction picture book concept tells the story of Wan Hu, a legendary Imperial scholar possibly from the Ming Dynasty, who is sometimes called the "world's first astronaut." According to one version of the tale, he had 47 gunpowder rockets attached to a chair. Then he climbed on board holding two kites. When the fuses were lit, he ascended into the sky where the rockets exploded. When the smoke cleared, he was gone. While some view this story as a humorous myth, others see a source of inspiration regarding the human imagination. In his honor, NASA has named a crater on the moon after him.