Review by Booklist Review
Since August 2012, the Mars rover Curiosity has roamed the surface of the red planet leaving tracks; climbing hills; tracing craters; and observing, measuring, and collecting materials from Mars' surface. This 2,000-pound car-sized laboratory includes a robotic arm, a laser, and 17 cameras. Using the perspective of Mars, Ho describes terrain, climactic conditions, and Curiosity's activities, emphasizing Mars' pride in the rover's accomplishments. Roy's digitally-enhanced watercolor illustrations (some resembling previously published photographs) feature red and orange hues prominently, and include many close-ups of Curiosity's equipment, sometimes in action (as with the laser). Of particular note are spreads depicting the rover enveloped in a massive sandstorm, and a panoramic double gatefold emphasizing Mars' red terrain. The main text is brief, making this accessible for very young audiences, and allowing the artwork (which includes inset scenes, sound words, and symbols) to extend the narrative. Appended with a captioned drawing of Curiosity, Mars facts, and information about other rovers, this will be welcomed by browsers and budding astronomers alike.--Kay Weisman Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this telling, the Curiosity rover resembles a less emotionally vulnerable, less anthropomorphized, but still adorable version of Pixar's WALL-E. "The little rover likes to roam"; it zips around Mars, taking pictures and samples because "it is curious. It wants to learn about the world around it." Besides, as debut author Ho reminds readers, this latest in a long, noble line of satellites and rovers is actually in constant communication with "whoever sent it. It tells them what it is like here." It's the contrast between Curiosity's cheery determination and the forbidding world it inhabits that gives the book its power: Roy (Otis and Will Discover the Deep) renders many evocative images, among them a sandstorm created from swirling strokes of red, orange, and gray, and a double gatefold that drives home just how vast, red, and rocky the Red Planet is. Readers may be thrown--and perhaps a little disappointed--when the point of view shifts in the final pages from the eager Curiosity to the imperious Mars itself ("They call me Mars. I am not like your World"). But ultimately, the message remains the same: no one, and nothing, in the universe is truly alone. Ages 3--6. (Oct.)■
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-- Anthropomorphism reigns in this nonfiction picture book, told in two voices. First, readers meet the rover Curiosity. Although lonely, Curiosity isn't alone. Others have come before it--Viking 1, Pathfinder, Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity. Perhaps there's life on Mars! A pullout spread shows off the planet, which directly addresses the audience as it describes itself as cold, red, and far away. The expertly drawn pictures help move the pedestrian text along. VERDICT The illustrations make this a winner for young Mars enthusiasts. Suitable for school and public libraries.--Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
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Review by Horn Book Review
Debut author Ho and experienced illustrator Roy (Neighborhood Sharks, rev. 11/14; Otis and Will Discover the Deep, rev. 3/18) deliver an informative and surprisingly tender portrayal of Curiosity, the most recent NASA rover to explore Mars. Poetic and personified text labels the rover as "curious," "thirsty," and even "lonely"; however, readers are assured that "it is not alone. It has friends that came before." In fact, after an overview of Curiosity's roving abilities ("It observes. Measures. Collects"), a series of brilliantly sequenced panels pays homage to six robotic "friends" (Mariner 9, Viking 1, Mars Pathfinder, Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity) that previously explored the red planet. A dramatic run-in with a massive, swirling dust storm leaves Curiosity blanketed in dust, which dissipates with the opening of an impressive panoramic gatefold of the Martian landscape, boldly plastered with the word "RED." Roy's painterly illustrations are both scientifically accurate and emotive, often framing Curiosity as if for a portrait and subtly conveying human-like gestures-such as a slight tip of the rover's head-like camera system toward the impending arrival of a new rover friend (foreshadowing NASA's upcoming planned launch in 2020). A last-minute reveal of the book's narrator is a sweet surprise that only enhances the appeal of this thoughtful, evocative, and impeccably illustrated space book. Back matter includes a well-labeled, detailed diagram of the rover; Mars facts; additional information about Curiosity and "friends"; a bibliography; and related websites. Patrick Gall November/December 2019 p.113(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A planet's-eye view of some recent visitors from Earthone in particular.In measured, deceptively solemn prose, the narrator (Mars itself, as eventually revealed) gets off to a shaky start, observing that the rover rolls on and on, making straight tracks that confusingly become a tangle on the next page. Things settle down thereafter: "It observes. Measures. Collects. It is always looking for water. Maybe it is thirsty." Roy matches the tone with a set of broad, rugged, achingly remote-looking Mars-scapes that culminate in a wildly swirling dust storm followed by a huge double gatefold: "Everything is / RED as far as the eye can see. But it is beautiful." Curiosity itself she depicts with almost clinical precision (though its wheels look different from different angles), adding a schematic view at the end with select parts and instruments labeled. Following playful nods to other rovers along the way (Spirit and Opportunity "had a spirit of adventure and seized every opportunity to explore"), a substantial quantity of backmatter includes more information about each oneincluding the next one up, Mars 2020as well as about the fourth planet itself. For audience appeal it's hard to beat Markus Motum's cheerfully anthropomorphic Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover (2018), but the art here, in adding a certain grandeur and mystery to the red planet, has an appeal of its own.A tad rough around the edges but, visually, at least, a keeper. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
