Good Night, Mars

Night Night, Curiosity
By Brianna Caplan Sayres; illustrated by Ryan o’Rourke
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2020

theme: Mars, space, bedtime story

The first line in this story is a speech bubble. As Mom walks out the door she says, “I’m taking off for work! Have a good night!”

While Mom and other NASA scientists prepare for a Mars landing of the rover, Curiosity, Dad flies the little girl up the stairs for a bedtime story. As he tucks her under covers, she imagines what it might be like for a rover to touch down on a strange planet.

What I like about this book: I love the girl’s imagination. She and Curiosity fly through space and, once landed, set off on an adventure of discovery. They send pictures and messages back to Earth, an echo of what is going on over at NASA. I also love the illustrations of her and Curiosity on Mars, rendered in tones of sandy Martian reds.

Beyond the Books:

Postcards from Curiosity! Last month, Curiosity celebrated 8 years of exploring Mars and sent home some postcards. Make your own “postcard from Mars.

A new rover is headed to Mars. On July 30, NASA’s Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral. NASA scientists expect Perseverance to make a Mars landing on February 18, 2021. Check out this video of the launch. And here’s more information about the new rover.

Design a rover using things from your recycling bin, Legos, or whatever you have at hand. Think about how it will travel across uneven ground, and how cameras might be attached.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Books for Goodnight Reading

I'm always on the lookout for some goodnight stories, and these new books are a perfect fit.
themes: bed time books, counting, families

A Number Slumber
by Suzanne Bloom
40 pages; ages 2-5
Boyds Mills Press, 2016

The soft textures of the illustrations in this reverse counting book feel so cozy - they just want to make you curl up with a cup of cocoa and pull on a fluffy quilt.

First lines: What do you do to get ready for bed?
Do you brush your teeth? Have a story read?

What I like about this book: Suzanne Bloom gives us the inside scoop on things other sleepyheads do before bed. In alliteration...."Ten terribly tired tigers tiptoe to their beds" ... and rhyme. "Nine normally nimble newts rest their sleepy heads."

What fun! I promise you will be yaw-aw-awning by the end of the book.

It is Not Time for Sleeping
by Lisa Graff; illus. by Lauren Castillo
40 pages; ages 4-7
Clarion Books, 2016

First lines: When I've munched and crunched my last three carrots (except for one I fed to Jasper), Mom takes my plate. "It's been a good day," she says.

What I like about this book: The kid is NOT ready to go to bed. First, dishes have to be washed. It is not time for sleeping.

Then it's time for a bath. Then pj's.... in a cumulative fashion the kid enumerates the things that must happen before it is time for sleeping.

Beyond the book:

Create some alliterative lines about sleepy-head animals that are ready to go to bed. Maybe cats, or teddy bears, or dogs, or sheep.... or unusual animals that live in your back yard or in the garden. Alliteration is when the words begin with the same sound.

What are the "things that have to happen" before you are ready for sleeping?

Read a goodnight story to your dog or cat, or maybe a grandparent.

Find some goodnight poems to say before bedtime. One favorite is Star light, star bright / First star I see tonight / I wish I may, I wish I might / Have the wish I wish tonight.

Today we're joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copies from publishers.