In this post, I would share my opinion about the second out of the three books meant for children that I have received for review. The book is titled Moving To Mars, written by Stef Wade and illustrated by Erin Taylor. The title is self-explanatory to a certain extent. This book is meant for children and is part picture book and part story book. Here space science or rather space exploration is presented as a potpourri of art, science, and humour. I haven’t yet come across any other book of this nature and never thought that science in general and space science in particular could be presented in such a charming manner. This book is unique on all accounts.

The illustrations are made in bright and bold colours and would definitely lift your spirits. You can have a fairly accurate idea about how they look from the cover image of the book. As the book is short in length — suitable for young readers — it would not be proper for me to quote any extracts from the book. Here you will have to trust me that all humorous pieces are fresh and sure to bring a smile on your face.

In brief, the book tells the story of Mars, who prefers to be a loner and content in his own little world. He does not have friends and is annoyed by visitors — notable among them being his own satellites, meteoroids, comets and explorations from Earth. Soon he gets used to them and looks forward to having more cordial relations with them. Once Earth told him about her inhabitants, and Moon told about missions to his soil. Rest of the book tells about the various preparations Mars makes in order to attract human explorers. He is supported by Earth and other planets who present to him their sound advice supported by information and wisdom.

Thus, this book brings Mars closer to us and gives it a human face — with human thoughts, human emotions and need for connections. It takes up space exploration from the perspective of the red planet and that too in a cute and funny manner. Somehow I felt the story to be short and incomplete, but then the journey of exploration of Mars is itself still in progress. In a way, the absence of a conclusion and an open climax provides fuel for imagination and would pull the young audience into taking interest in the latest developments in the field. The author could also have gone into further depth and given details about Mars or space exploration. But the field is so involved that I wonder whether it is possible to do so without overwhelming the young mind.

This book would definitely make a good gift item for your children and would open them to the exciting world of space exploration in a language they understand and love. Who knows, one of them may even become part of a future mission to Mars!

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Title: Moving to Mars
Author: Stef Wade, Illus. By Erin Taylor
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Publication Date: 1 August, 2022
Print Length: 32 pages
Price (Kindle): $10.28
Price (Hardcover): $17.99
My Rating:
What Does It Mean?

Source: Ucodesoft