Rover and Speck: This Planet Rocks!

by Jonathan Roth, Jonathan Roth (Illustrator)

Overview

In this one-of-a-kind graphic novel, two mismatched rovers meet on a distant planet and discover that space exploration is not what they expected! A perfect space adventure for aspiring (and armchair) astronauts everywhere!

When Rover crash-lands on a rocky planet and finds Speck stranded and in need of a battery charge, the two rovers hardly seem destined to make great teammates. Rover is organized, careful and on a mission to discover all the amazing things in the galaxy. Speck is impulsive, excitable and … not totally sure what his mission is. Their differences are forgotten, however, when they make their first big discovery: they’re not alone on the planet! And, suddenly, their only mission is to escape from the rock creatures that are chasing them!

Jonathan Roth’s hugely appealing graphic novel with classic comic-style art features a fast-moving and suspenseful plot, loads of silly laugh-out-loud moments and two endearing characters that young readers will instantly fall in love with. It’s also a great introduction to real rovers and robots, and the entertaining sidebars sprinkled throughout the story containing facts about earth science topics like rocks and minerals, planets, and space systems add a light STEM touch to the fun. A draw-your-own-rover activity and an overview of some real-life rovers enhance the science and technology links. The series offers a unique and winning combination of a high-interest topic, spot-on humor and accessible science. This book also strongly features the character education topics of adaptability, cooperation and teamwork.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525305665
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Series:	Rover and Speck Series , #1
Pages:	104
Sales rank:	496,648
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Author-illustrator Jonathan Roth has been fascinated with robotic space missions since the Viking lander sent back the first images from the surface of Mars. Jonathan, who teaches elementary art, lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife and two kitties, in a house on a rocky planet orbiting a fiery star in a barred spiral galaxy. He is also the author of the Beep and Bob series.

Editorial Reviews

The silliness of the plot belies the massive and impressive bulk of advanced scientific facts relayed within ... space-loving readers will feel right at home ...—Booklist

An appealing tale that suggests that music is the path to interplanetary harmony.—Kirkus Reviews

Libraries needing early reader comics will surely want to add this to their collection.—School Library Journal

Accessible, humorous, and full of heart, this series is an excellent addition to library collections for middle grade readers.—Children's Literature

From the Publisher

10/28/2022

Gr 1–3—This whimsical early reader comic will delight a young audience and give them a few science tidbits on the way. Rover is deposited on a planet to explore, but immediately is hampered by a broken antenna, which means he won't be able to call home when he is ready to move on. While trying to find a way to fix the antenna, he happens onto an older model rover that has been covered and is out of solar power. He revives the robot, and the two bots become friends, exploring the planet together, only to meet up with huge rock monsters. The narration breaks every so often to sprinkle in a scientific fact, but this doesn't hinder the flow of the story, which is laden with humor and just enough suspense for the target audience. The artwork uses vibrant colors and simple geometric shapes that give an overall vibe of simplicity. VERDICT Libraries needing early reader comics will surely want to add this to their collection.—Esther Keller

School Library Journal

2022-08-17
Two robots explore a strange planet and form a friendship along the way.

Rover’s landing on an unidentified planet is a bit rough, resulting in a damaged communication antenna, but the wheeled robot explorer can still search the planet for new discoveries. One search unearths Speck (which stands for Special Planet Explorer Class-K), an enthusiastic, helpful, slightly ditzy, music-loving robot explorer. When the robots discover “large life-forms composed of solid mineral compounds,” otherwise known as giant rock people, Speck’s opera music prevents the creatures from crushing them; instead, they start dancing. Rocky, one of the creatures, befriends Rover and Speck and shares his creative rock art, including a huge stone arena with great acoustics. Here, with encouragement from the robots, the rock people create percussion background music, and soon Rocky and his friends break into song (“Rocks will, rocks will help you! / Rocks will, rocks will help you!”). Although the music isn’t loud enough to call Rover’s ship, Rover, with help from Speck and the rock people, finds another way to make contact. Amusing science-speak like “ignitable mineral masses” (coal) and “nearest spheroid of luminous stellar plasma” (the sun) dot the text, and periodic “Fun Science Facts” add tidbits of relevant information about minerals, microseconds, space caves, and more—and sometimes a joke. Brightly colored cartoon illustrations tell the story clearly and bring to life earnest Rover, adorable Speck, and the fun-loving rock people.

An appealing tale that suggests that music is the path to interplanetary harmony. (information on famous rovers, drawing instructions) (Graphic novel. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews