Good Night, Oppy!

August 1, 2021
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 1/2 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)

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September 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 3 Oppy, a hardworking rover on Mars, has had her share of triumphs (finding certain minerals that proved that water was once on the planet's surface) as well as mishaps, such as falls. This picture book features her last adventure, when she was caught in a dust storm and could not recharge her power supply. With her batteries running low, she sent her most recently gathered data to the researchers on Earth, and they transmitted "her favorite bedtime song" to thank her. "Good night, Oppy!" As the title page says, the story has been somewhat fictionalized (mainly the gently anthropomorphized rover), but "the science is real." 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. Illustrated with two images taken by Opportunity on Mars, an appended author's note offers the facts behind the story. An attractive picture book introducing the Mars Exploration Program.

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October 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.

July 1, 2021
For fourteen-and-a-half years, the Mars rover Opportunity, nicknamed Oppy, traveled over the surface of the red planet sending information back to scientists on Earth. Perhaps "her" most famous discovery was evidence of the one-time existence of groundwater on Mars. This cheerful picture book features an anthropomorphized Oppy, eyes wide open, magnifying glass in hand, doing scientific research until a dust storm ends her successful run. Digital cartoon-style illustrations use shades of red, pink, and magenta. McGowan's account of Oppy's work is accompanied by solid, accessible information about the NASA project. Back matter includes photographs, an author's note, and a list of sources.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)