Rocket Town

April 11, 2011
Originally self-published by the author in 2007, Logan's story, set in a futuristic-meets-retro world, follows a man and his dog as they drive a yellow pickup truck through Rocket Town, where they encounter rockets of all kinds, which are used to demonstrate antonyms. Commuters travel in a "big rocket," and a baby rides in a small toy rocket; families watch "rockets go up" in a park, while another group comes back down with help from parachutes. Minimal text keeps the focus on Logan's '50s-era vision of the future, where waitresses on hover-skates deliver burgers and shakes, and school buses, ice cream trucks, and even sharks get rocket makeovers. Readers ought to have a blast. Ages 1âup.

July 1, 2011

With Jetsonian flair, this journey to futuristic Rocket Town sends opposites pairings right out of this world.

A lone gentleman putters his car into the city, accompanied by his ear-waggling dog. He travels past an impressive assortment of rockets with every classification imaginable. The darkening range of colors—rustic reds to somber lavender grays—indicate their specified purposes. Signage includes "Just Married," "the Guzzler" and "Phil's Tow Service" to build the visual narrative. Clear language highlights interconnected, antithetical relationships with the crisp turn of the page ("These rockets go fast! / These rockets go slow"). There's quite a lot of whimsy in the rockets (among the rockets that are not "useful" is one called "The Stinky Onion"). Typographic nuances build excitement until the man's whopping purchase sends him spiraling into the skies. His simple declaration sums up his experience: "This one is mine." Tightly woven phrases suit this smaller format, though the bustling backdrop would soar even higher with more room to stretch its wings.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011

PreS-K-What if rockets dominated an entire town and every other mode of transportation were converted into a spaceship version of its former self? That is the premise of this richly illustrated offering. With helmet in hand and accompanied by his dog, a man drives his pickup truck from a rural setting to a place where fast-food joints, school buses, unicycles, and fire trucks have all turned into rocket ships, alongside an array of other ships whose origins are less apparent, like Chopper, Guzzler, and the green Stinky Onion. In this graphical feast for the eyes, filled with dark concentrated colors and abundant geometric shapes, Logan does not so much tell a story as state that each invention is either big, small, fast, slow, or moving up or down. At Rocket Ray's Pre-Owned Rockets, the protagonist makes his own purchase, leading to the inevitable "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...BLAST OFF!" Reminiscent of Donald Crews's vehicle books (HarperCollins), this board book will appeal to young transportation buffs.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.