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There's nothing to do on Mars
Gall, Chris.
| Publisher: |
Little, Brown, |
| Pub date: |
c2008. |
| Pages: |
1 v. (unpaged) : |
| ISBN: |
9780316166843 |
| Copy info: |
43 copies available at Administrative Headquarters-Professional Collection, Aspen Hill Library, Bethesda Library, Chevy Chase Library, Damascus Library, Marilyn J. Praisner Library, Gaithersburg Library, Germantown Library, Kensington Park Library, Little Falls Library, Noyes Children's Library, Olney Library, Poolesville Library, Potomac Library, Quince Orchard Library, Rockville Library, Silver Spring Library, Twinbrook Library, Wheaton Library, White Oak Library, and Longbranch Library.
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When Davey Martin's family moves to Mars, he discovers that there's nothing to do--at least until he and his robot dog Polaris learn to seize the spirit of adventure. It's not until they've zipped around the planet on his flying scooter--climbing Martian "trees," digging up "fossils," dancing in Martian rain dances--that they discover a treasure that finally piques Davey's interest--a source of water on the red planet! Chris Gall's new picture book plays on the themes (and ironies) of a complaint parents have heard from their children a thousand times: "There's nothing to do!" The book also offers a deeper lesson to our stationary, convenience-driven society: If you're creative and look carefully, you'll be amazed at what you find!
Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
Davey and his pioneer parents may live on the Red Planet, but conditions are far from rosy. "The nights were very cold. The dust storms were terrible.... `I'm bored!' Davey shouted one day." Davey and his leaky robot dog glumly explore the dry, rocky terrain, where they dig up "an old toy"-a six-wheeled object that space buffs will recognize as a long-lost NASA Rover. All Davey's activities emphasize the lack of water (and the promise of it): He climbs a desiccated tree and plays with amphibious-looking Martians who "had not been able to take a bath in a very long time, and... smelled worse than skunks." Davey accidentally stumbles upon a gushing water source, thereby alleviating his boredom and radically changing his planet. Gall envisions Mars's surface as an austere Sedona landscape, carved with rust-red, pumpkin-orange and wheat-gold canyons. He produces his linocut-style compositions with hand-engraved, clay-coated boards, and the smooth results are striking but impersonal. Where these stylized images imply an almost corporate aesthetic, the endpapers present "Davey Martin's Mars Journal (Top Secret!)," in a chalky white scrawl on terracotta paper; ironically, the comic first-person approach here tells more about Davey's personality than the story itself does. Ages 3-6. (Feb.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
From: Reed Elsevier Inc.
Copyright Reed Business Information
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