Hello, Opportunity: The Story of Our Friend on Mars

by Shaelyn McDaniel, Cornelia Li (Illustrator)

Overview

A long time ago, humans wanted to soar through the sky, so we did. Then we wanted to go to the moon, so we did. Then we looked out further, to a little red planet named Mars, but it was too far away. Instead, we sent a friend. We named her Opportunity, which means “a good chance” and feels like hope.

With nine eyes, three ears, one arm, and six wheels, Oppy explored the mysterious terrain of Mars, gathering samples, snapping photos, and discovering vast craters. Everywhere held new and exciting surprises!

Follow Opportunity’s groundbreaking Mars mission through her eyes, and the eyes of the scientists who loved her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645674696
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	889,554
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shaelyn McDaniel grew up in South Florida before moving to New York for a digital marketing career with kids books. In college, she majored in English. As a kid she assumed humans had already been to Mars, and as an adult she remains incensed that we haven’t (yet). This is her debut picture book.

Cornelia Li loves the challenge of making factual but emotional art for scientific topics. For this book, she was inspired by mid-century art and printmaking to match the focus on space and technology. She studied illustration at OCAD University. She now lives in Toronto, Canada, where she works as a full-time illustrator. She has illustrated several children’s books, including the Glow in the Dark series (Wide Eyed) and The Trouble with Time Travel (Owlkids).

Editorial Reviews

"Warmly affectionate." —Kirkus Reviews

"This simply written, visually appealing picture book introduces an intrepid space traveler." —Booklist

"For aspiring rocket scientists and for those curious about Mars, this book is everything they need. [...] [Hello, Opportunity] will open children's eyes to science, exploration, and the opportunities across the universe." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/30/2022

K-Gr 3—For aspiring rocket scientists and for those curious about Mars, this book is everything they need. It is an absolutely charming introduction to Oppy, also known as Opportunity, the Mars rover. The illustrations bring Oppy to life and help explain the very complex science behind planetary travel. Readers gain a clear understanding of what scientists hoped to find on Mars and how they used a rover to conduct their studies. Readers even get a glimpse of the scientists' emotional responses and challenges. The book provides a clear path for discussions of space science with kids to spark their imaginations, offering lesson connections in science, math, ELA, and more. VERDICT A book that will open children's eyes to science, exploration, and the opportunities across the universe.—Darby Wallace

School Library Journal

2022-05-25
A salute to the now inactive Mars rover that extended a planned mission of three months into a 15-year odyssey.

Like nearly all the picture-book tributes to various Mars rovers, this one anthropomorphizes its subject—though Li artfully manages to suggest a personality without adding eyes or significantly altering any of the rover’s mechanical parts or features. McDaniel characterizes “Oppy” as a “friend” and lauds the way “she kept going,” mixing general remarks about the rover’s construction, journey, and mission to find evidence that water once flowed on the “little red planet” with quotes that are misleadingly presented as if originally sent in plain language (including the poignant final one in 2018: “My battery is low and it’s getting dark”). Opportunity’s sister rover, Spirit, gets nary a mention until a closing timeline that has outdated information about an upcoming European rover. James McGowan’s Good Night, Oppy! (2021) offers a more careful distinction between real and invented details as well as photos to supplement the illustrations by Graham Carter. In the pictures here, human figures back on Earth are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Warmly affectionate but an also-flew, with better alternatives available. (labeled image of Opportunity) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews