? Astro Bunnies by Christine Loomis, Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight by Pablo Bernasconi, Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery by Kevin O'Malley, Lego Man in Space by Mara Shaughnessy, Man on the Moon by Simon Bartram, Orson Blasts Off! by Raul Colon, Q Pootle 5 by Nick Butterworth, Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! by Dan Yaccarino
THIS year the wonderful province-wide BC Summer Reading Club's theme is Up, Up and Away.
As usual, kids who sign up are given a reading log to keep track of the days that they read or that someone reads to them. There are accompanying bookmarks and often some interesting theme-related items including a special medal for kids who successfully complete the program. This SR Club is truly a family affair and when I was working, I encountered many parents who would bring their participating children to the library on a regular basis. Most libraries do not insist that kids read only books specifically to do with the theme but this year they will be hard-pressed to supply enough books about space travel, planets, aliens and astronauts. Space has certainly been in the news in recent months. The Mars robot explorer is constantly sending us stunning photos. Chris Hadfield has achieved movie-star fame for his photos of our planet and his description of life aboard the space station. Would-be adventurers are vying for the privilege of taking a one-way trip to help colonize Mars and astronomers seem to be finding new planets daily. Space is surely a topic with universal (pun intended) appeal!
Here are a few space picture book titles guaranteed to intrigue the picture book crowd and fit the SR Club theme to a T.
Lego Man in Space is a new picture-book story of a real event. Two teenage boys from the Toronto area successfully launched a small Lego astronaut into space using homemade equipment and a 12-foot weather balloon. They documented the event with a digital camera and estimated that the Lego figure was carried 24 kilometres into the stratosphere. GPS allowed them to retrieve the figure when a homemade parachute brought it safely back to earth about 100 kilometres from the launch site. The YouTube video has had almost four million hits so far and it would appear the teens have a bright future in space science ahead of them. The picture book is wonderful - the opening pages feature cartoon drawings of scientists working at the National Legonautics and Space Exploration Facilities but we are quickly assured by Lego man that this is a big fat lie and that adults did NOT send him into space. Lego man then asks readers to guess how he got there and offers some goofy ideas before describing in detail how the teens achieved success. There is a page of online links and resources included as well as photos from the voyage, science activities and classroom crafts and games. The brightly coloured drawings on a white background and Lego man's cheerful enthusiasm make this a real winner. Kids who can't get enough of space stories will lap this up and perhaps achieve some amazing feats of their own.
Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight is a goofy account of a fictional inventor whose crazy contraptions always seem to involve him in a disastrous crash. His contraptions have a weird Rube Goldberg feel to them, especially project No. 6, the hamstertronic.
Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery is an oversize graphic novel about a space dinosaur "hero of a thousand space missions" whose latest job is to investigate the crash of a mysterious object on his planet's moon. Lots of derring-do (and dinosaurs).
Man on the Moon is subtitled "a day in the life of Bob" who takes off from Earth each morning and commutes to his job on the moon. He is kept busy tidying, entertaining tourists and manning a souvenir stand. The large format and detailed illustrations really allow the reader to focus on the details of Bob's day.
Space stories often need some aliens to spice up the action. Q Pootle 5 is the perfect choice here. Q Pootle 5 is on his way to a moon party when he crash lands on earth and must find a way to repair his rocket. He is helped out by several earthlings of the animal variety and a final four-page foldout illustration shows him partying with his fellow aliens.
Parents who wonder if their kids are getting too much time at the computer will enjoy sharing Orson Blasts Off! in which a dejected and bored Orson wonders how he will cope after his computer crashes. As it turns out, he is taken on a dream trip which culminates in a space adventure.
And for the really young picture book set, Astro Bunnies is a delightful rhyming tale of bunnies who adventure far and wide through space before heading home.
Dan Yaccarino's Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! is another simple brightly illustrated rhyming account of a little boy who describes his trip to the moon from blast off to his successful return home to adoring parents.
Have a blast(off) this summer with any of the above (inter)stellar titles!
Fran Ashdown worked as head of the Children's Dept. at the Capilano Branch of the NV District Library for many years. She loves Star Trek movies but is not planning a rocket trip any time soon. For more information check your local libraries.
