Planet Earth, the place that we call home. Planet Earth is packed with beauty, from the most desolate of landscapes such as the vastness of the Gobi Desert in China to the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Our planet is full of nature and beauty and home to millions of different people, all with their own cultures, traditions and languages. But what about other planets? What is Mars like for instance? Does anyone live there and if so, what do they look like? Carole P. Roman, the award-winning children’s book author of more than 50 books, has written a series of books that looks at different world cultures and civilisations in her If You Were Me and Live in… series, now there is a new addition to that series that looks at another planet entirely, If You Were Me and Lived on… Mars.
We have really enjoyed reading the If You Were Me and Lived in… series over the years and with one of the kids having an interest in space were delighted to explore the series further, millions of miles further, and pay an armchair visit to the Red Planet, Mars.
In If You Were Me and Lived on… Mars we travel into the future to the year 2054, after all, no one has visited the planet yet and we have only just started to send exploration vessels to Mars to see if the planet can and would support life.
The book takes you on a hypothetical journey to Mars through the eyes of a child. It talks about what you would be called if your lived there (Martian), how long it would take to get there, the distance between the Earth and Mars, how long you would have to stay for before returning as you would have to wait for the for the planets to realign, how Mars got its name and why it is also called the Red Planet, it’s atmosphere and reduced gravity. You would also learn about how and where you would live, its infamous dust storms, how long time is on Mars – a day is over 24 hours and a year is 1.88 Earth years, and its moons (yes plural, Mars has more than one)
The illustrations have been created by the very talented Mateya Arkova, who has illustrationed quite a few of Roman’s books, and create a good visualisation of what Mars could look like and how you would survive there. The illustrations have been drawn beautifully in a cartoon kind of style with excellent use of colours. The illustrations do an excellent job of enhancing the story being told.
At the end of the book there is a handy child-friendly pronunciation guide to help children learn and pronounce some of the tricky words used in the book, along with a brief description of what the word means.
Overall, If You Were Me and Lived on… Mars is a very good look at what it would be like travelling to and living on another planet. It is suitable for children 8 years old and above and has plenty of snippets of facts and figures to digest.
It is packed with interesting facts, told through the eyes of a child and is a book that children will actually enjoy reading, find interesting and learn something from. The facts are short so are not overwhelming for young readers and you do get a taste of what Mars could be like.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £12.99 (Paperback)
For more information, visit www.caroleproman.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.