Yuri Gagarin

Hello. My name is Yuri Gagarin. When I was a little boy, I lived in a small, quiet village. My favorite thing to do was lie in the soft green grass and look up at the big blue sky. I would watch the birds fly high above. They would soar and swoop and look so free. I had a big dream. I dreamed that one day, I could fly up, up, up into the clouds just like them. I wanted to see the world from high in the sky. It was my biggest wish.

When I grew bigger, my dream started to come true. I learned how to fly big, shiny airplanes. It was so much fun. I could zip through the fluffy white clouds and wave to the birds. I loved being a pilot. But my dream got even bigger. I didn't just want to fly in the sky. I wanted to go even higher. I wanted to fly past the blue sky and all the way up to the twinkling stars. I wanted to see what was out there in space.

Then, one very special day, on April 12th, 1961, I got to go on the biggest adventure ever. I climbed inside a giant rocket that rumbled like a friendly giant. The rocket took me up, up, up into space. I was in my own little space house called Vostok 1. I looked out my window, and I saw something amazing. I saw our world, our Earth. It looked like a beautiful blue and white marble floating in the dark. It was so quiet and peaceful. I was the very first person in the whole wide world to see our home from so far away. I felt so happy and full of wonder.

After my wonderful trip around the Earth, my little space house brought me safely back home. When I landed, so many people were cheering for me. They were so happy. I was happy too. I learned that if you have a big dream and you are brave, you can go on the most amazing adventures, maybe even all the way to the stars.