A Curious Robot on Mars!

September 9, 2013
Newcomer Duffett-Smith gives the Mars rover Curiosity a personality, then casts the robot in a fantasy with two other space exploration icons. Straker (Zombie Cat) transforms Curiosity’s camera turret “head” into an adorably expressive face, Wall-E style. The story starts on a grim note, though, as Curiosity is fired by Mission Control. “You’ve found ice, and you’ve found rocks,” a technician says over a videophone. “Your mission is over.” A long shot of Mars and Earth floating in inky black space makes it clear that Curiosity is not only unemployed, but also permanently stranded. It’s a traumatic moment. He wipes his rover tears, though, continues exploring, and finds two other space refugees: “Out of the light, Laika, the space dog, barked at him.... And next to her, Sputnik beeped.” As Duffett-Smith points out in a jokey conclusion, Curiosity has in fact found life on Mars. Even if readers do recognize Laika and Sputnik—not a given—Duffett-Smith’s puzzling attempt to rewrite space history runs out of steam as he offers them no more than the consolation of each other’s company. Ages 3–7.

August 1, 2013
Left to wander on Mars after mission's end, the lonely Curiosity rover makes some bizarre friends. "Mission Control, don't leave me here! There's more to do....Hello?...Can you hear me?" Poor Curiosity, abandoned, has nothing to do but continue rolling over the sere landscape. Until, that is, he (explicitly gendered) falls into a crevasse, lands on a soft pile of leaves (!) and at last does find life on Mars--namely Sputnik ("Beeeeeep! Beeeep!") and Laika the space dog ("Rufff! Ruff!"). Even readers obliging enough to roll with the story's surreal elements (and unfamiliar with the real Laika's ugly fate) will be left spinning their wheels by the garishly colored cartoon art. The rover, looking like a tearful mechanical turtle with clinical depression, may draw sympathy, but Sputnik resembles a spider with heavy, retro-style eyeglasses, and Laika is portrayed as a slobbery pooch in a space helmet with big, creepy, staring eyes. In the last scene, dog and satellite are seen playing Twister as their new playmate contentedly sits by, letting his radio batteries run down. Ghastly. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-7)

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December 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-Curiosity the robot rover has been sent by Mission Control to find evidence of life on Mars. After he finds ice and rocks, he receives a message that his mission is over. The robot begs not to be left all alone on the planet, but two-way communication has ceased. He continues to roam until he finds a huge chasm and, at the bottom, far below, piles of leaves, Laika the famous space dog, and Sputnik, the forgotten spaceship. "Earth would never know, but there was life on Mars." No one is at the control center, and then his radio battery runs out. "But he really didn't care-he loved exploring no matter what." The illustrations in this odd tale are flat and have a limited palette. An author's note states that Curiosity actually exists and is currently on Mars gathering data. While the afterword says that Sputnik and Laika are not likely to be found on Mars, it begs the question, why place them in this story at all and with the suggestion that Sputnik is a life-form? Pass on this one.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

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