Fictionalized Account of Mars Rover Opportunity

This is a fun, mostly fictionalized account of the Mars rover Opportunity, nicknamed Oppy. Some information is accurate to what actually happened during Oppy’s mission, including the science (as the author points out). In the story, we learn about what Oppy did and found, including finding hematite and gypsum on the surface, alerting scientists to the fact that water must have been on Mars' surface at some point. The book also details Oppy’s ultimate demise in a massive sandstorm on Mars in 2018. It does so in terms that shouldn't frighten a child. Some pages had science facts about the rover and Mars at the bottom in a slightly different print. Children who are interested in space exploration will most likely find these extra tidbits as fascinating as I did. At the end of the book, the author provides a little more information about the real Opportunity Rover as well as two photos it took (the hematite and its own tracks) and an artist rendering of it. If you have a child with an interest in space or space exploration, she or he will most enjoy this book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
This was a good mixture of story and factual info. Great little picture book for a space loving kiddo.

I don't know why an inanimate robot always gets me in my feelings, but the story of the Mars rover, Opportunity, always makes me tear up. It might be that once, Oppy hummed Happy Birthday to itself (just the once, not every year as some people claim). It could be that the last message ever sent to Oppy was a Billie Holiday song: "I'll find you in the morning sun; And when the night is new; I'll be looking at the moon; But I'll be seeing you." It could just be that it's a cute lil robot doing a space travel. Whatever the reason, I would protect the Mars rovers with my life and had to check out "Good Night, Oppy!" which is the story of Opportunity and the progress it helped scientists make in the discovery of important minerals that proved Mars once had water and could have sustained life.

The book is factual in some places and takes creative liberties in others. Clearly, it depicts Oppy as a living creature with eyes who plays and works hard. The illustrations are pretty with lots of blues and purples. I'd love to see books about the other four rovers, who all deserve some love too! The book was a little text-heavy on some pages, but could spark interest in science and space exploration for children. I do wish they'd included the "good night song" at the end because it is extremely fitting and would really bring the story together.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This was a cute book with adorable illustrations on a topic that we don’t have a lot of good quality picture books on. I love this for adding to a preschool space-theme library, and I love that there are big vocabulary words used throughout that teachers can define for their audience. I enjoyed the factual parts of the book that gave background information, which is useful for teachers to add facts as they read the book, and which can serve as the foundation for supplemental teaching opportunities, adjacent lesson planning, science center activities and other connected comprehension activities.

Despite the appealingly colorful artwork, this book falls a little short as a fictionalized science picture book. It tells the story of the Mars rover Opportunity, detailing the kinds of data that “Oppy” collects and the discoveries she’s made, then telling the story of the dust storm of 2018. But the page layout fails to clearly distinguish between the narrative story and the informational side notes, which detracts from the overall appeal of the book because those side notes include vocabulary and sentence structure that is at a much higher reading level than that of the main narrative. Even the fictionalized part of the story includes a few too many big words like “environment”, “groundbreaking, and “persevere”. While I don’t recommend this for a wide audience, it’s still a good book for intelligent space enthusiasts (Preschool and Kindergarten) and potentially for some older kids who are reluctant readers. (1st-3rd grade)

This is such a sweet story of Opportunity the Rover. I loved how it was told in story format but gave some great background information as well. It was so bitter sweet to hear that she drifted off to sleep to the music at the end. Good night Oppy!

This was such a cute book! I love the art and the story, and I’ll definitely be recommending this one a lot.

A picture book with a dual track of a fiction story about the Martian rover Opportunity, aka “Oppy”, along with non-fiction blurbs explaining the science.

For younger kids, you could stick with just reading the story, as some of the terms in the non-fiction section might be too advanced, but there are also a few words that might need an adult to define in the story itself.

The science blurbs are for the budding science nerds who want to know more details. There’s also an author’s note explaining that Oppy and her twin, Spirit, were only designed for a 90-day mission, and Oppy’s mission lasted nearly 15 years.

This is a cute story with wonderful artwork that gives Oppy a bit of personality, and could be used as a starting point to talk with the space science inclined kids about Perseverance, aka “Percy”, the latest Martian rover. With Percy’s mission to include audio and video from Mars for the first time, it’s bound to be of interest to young scientists.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a cute story about the Mars rover Opportunity. Kids who love space and planets will connect with this story.

This book is ADORABLE. I didn't know much about Opportunity and now I know much more! It's a great jumping off point for kids, and I'm sure it will spark the interest in space travel in kids. The writing was simple and easy to understand for all ages. The artwork was beautiful--the colors are vibrant and make the illustrations engaging! I can absolutely seeing this have a place in every elementary school classroom and library, as well as the public library, of course.

The one con I had about it was that the words were a bit hard to read at time in Adobe Digital Editions on my computer, but I expect it wouldn't be an issue in the actual hardbound copy. Additionally, I would recommend this to an older group--maybe something closer to 6-10 than 4-8. There were a lot of words on some of the pages and I could see younger kids getting bored with it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Gorgeous color, high adventure, and great factual content make this book a winner! Learn all about the discoveries and adventures of Opportunity, the robot NASA sent to Mars. Lots of great connections to science and a fabulous way to show the geography/weather of Mars. Worth multiple reads!!!

"Good Night, Oppy!" is scheduled perfectly - to be released after the landing of rover Perseverance!

This picture book is great for read aloud learning about the Red Planet. The rover Opportunity is anthropomorphized into the adorable Oppy and we learn about some (slightly fictionalized) missions and tasks that Oppy completed while he was active on the planet. Side panels also explain the science in easy-to-understand language for kids. A wonderful new book for budding scientists!

I read this book to my 6 year old son and his review was:

"I really liked Oppy's story. Space is so cool and I want to go to Mars to see her!"

My review: I thought it was a really cute story and a fun way to teach children about mars and rovers. I liked the snippets of background information too.

Such a neat book about a rover on planet Mars. Great for kids who like space and even for kids to learn about it. I love the authors note at the end too. The illustrations are so interesting!

We loved Oppy! I have two space loving kids and Oppy was the perfect book for them. The pictures of Oppy are absolutely adorable and really draw you into the story and get you invested into Oppy"s time on Mars. The author did a great job adding the facts into the story pages as extras and it all worked so well. If I had this book when my kids were younger it would have been a favorite for sure.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

WOW WOW WOW! I want to give this adorable book all the stars in the sky.

Do you want your child to learn to love science? To get all starry-eyed at the idea of space travel? To want to study Mars like it's full of wondrous treasures? If your answer is yes, then you need to introduce your family to Oppy, the cutest and coolest Mars rover ever.

Giving Opportunity a personality, even down to having her favorite music, is simply genius. We can cheer her on, and feel a tug in our hearts when she can't go on any longer. Oppy gave us so much, and in return, we can give her the respect she (and her development team) deserve for a job well done.

I am sending all my love and good night wishes to our diligent Mars rover, Opportunity. It's inspiring stories like these, where we get an up close and personal look at such a great scientific achievement, that keeps everyone, young and old, ready to make even greater things happen.

Hard to read on a device but it may be good as a hardback. This is perfect for lovers of science.

I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary e/copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

This book would be a wonderful addition to any K-2 classroom library! I love how the fiction of the story line is presented alongside the information regarding true events and scientific facts. Oppy is adorable, and I think any young reader would find the character endearing and easy to cheer on. I wish this book had been available when I was teaching our first grade outer space unit this year! I will definitely be purchasing a copy for next year.

5/5 stars

Genre: Children's Fiction

Description:

Learn all about the Mars Opportunity Rover "Oppy" in this fictionalized account of the space exploration robot's time on the red planet.

Mixing humor with solid space and rover facts, this picture book gives an inside look into Opportunity's time on Mars. An interplanetary detective, Oppy spent 15 years on the red planet taking thousands of pictures and making groundbreaking discoveries that she transmitted to scientists and engineers back on Earth. From joyriding on Olympus Mons, to racing away from a treacherous dust storm, Oppy's adventure in space--combined with her grit and perseverance--will inspire and educate young readers of all ages.

Pros:

- Absolutely beautiful artwork.
- Kept my 8-year-old bonus daughter and myself engaged.
- It was actually great having this book to share with my bonus daughter. I had told her about Oppy before but having it illustrated helped her truly connect with the story.

Cons:

- It was very difficult to see and read the words in the NetGalley app and the Kindle App, but I believe would be perfectly fine with a hard copy.
- Amazon states the age range is 4-8 but the 5-year-old I babysit walked away partway through because of how wordy the story is. My 8-year-old bonus daughter had no problems though.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, but for an older age group (6-10).

This book was an adorable way to introduce the concept of rovers. The illustrations were stunning, and I loved how every illustration with humans showed diversity. Oppy was a rover working on Mars and sent information to the scientists back home. This story is the perfect way to explain space exploration to children. It is interesting, captivating, and even gives additional facts on most pages. This is a great book to have in the classroom to expose students to more science.