Good Night, Oppy!

by James McGowan, Graham Carter (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635923193
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	117,956
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

James McGowan is an author and also a literary agent at BookEnds Literary Agency. Good Night, Oppy! is his debut picture book. He lives in Staten Island, NY. Visit jmcgowanbooks.com. 

Graham Carter is an illustrator who has worked as the director of an animation studio and had a successful career in commercial illustration, with his prints being exhibited in galleries worldwide. He lives in Seaford, England. Visit graham-carter.co.uk.

Editorial Reviews

10/11/2021

Inspired by Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, which was active on Mars between 2004 and mid-2018, McGowan’s fictionalized telling describes Oppy’s various duties on the surface of the planet, highlighting some of the robot’s milestones (“She made a bunch of groundbreaking discoveries, like the time she found the mineral hematite”) and setbacks. “PING”s throughout convey italicized messages from Oppy’s scientists and engineers, while paragraphs presented in smaller font convey contextualizing facts throughout. Carter’s subtly textured digital spreads have a retro, sherbet-toned palette, depicting Oppy as big-eyed and expressive. Because Oppy is anthropomorphized here, her end at the hands of a brutal dust storm strikes a solemn concluding note; still, this narrative will prove engaging for those interested in robotics and space. Back matter includes an author’s note and photographs. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"A valedictory tip of the hat to the Opportunity rover...(a) timely addition considering that interest in sending new probes—and people—to the red planet is ramping up." —Kirkus Reviews

"For more than 14 years, the Opportunity rover on Mars followed instructions from NASA scientists and sent back information. McGowan lightly fictionalizes the rover's story, while Carter’s dynamic digital artwork brings Oppy to life as an appealing character on an important mission. An attractive picture book introducing the Mars Exploration Program." —Booklist

"Inspired by Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity...McGowan’s fictionalized telling describes Oppy’s various duties on the surface of the planet... subtly textured digital spreads have a retro, sherbet-toned palette... this narrative will prove engaging for those interested in robotics and space." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2021-07-14
A valedictory tip of the hat to the Opportunity rover, an “Interplanetary Detective” that far outlasted its original mission and also found telling evidence of water on Mars.

As has become usual for picture-book tributes to Mars rovers “Oppy” gets anthropomorphic features and feelings as well as feminine pronouns. Nevertheless, strenuous efforts to spare readers any confusion begin on the title page with a cautionary note about “fictionalized” content and finish off with a lengthy afterword that includes actual photos. In between, most of the light but specific informational payload is set apart from the narrative and printed in a different weight type. Having itself been finished off by a dust storm in 2018, Opportunity has since been buried beneath salutes to the currently active Curiosity. Still, as it operated for a record 14 ½ years, it does merit remembrance for longevity as well as a successful mission…and perhaps also for the five weeks it spent stuck in “Purgatory,” a sandy ripple that inspired doubtless frustrated scientists back on Earth to dub all such traps purgatoids henceforth. Slipping in the odd magnifying glass or deerstalker hat, Carter sets the wide-eyed wanderer wheeling over pink but challengingly craggy Mars-scapes. In one of the two scenes set on Earth, Oppy’s human crew includes both brown- and pale-skinned figures, one of the latter in a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A timely addition considering that interest in sending new probes—and people—to the red planet is ramping up. (source list) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews