You Are the First Kid on Mars (Hardback) - Common

by Patrick O'Brien

Excellent Book

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Adventure, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 2009

About the author

Patrick O'Brien has been a full-time illustrator and artist since 1985. His clients have included National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian. His art has appeared in magazines and newspapers, on posters and greeting cards, and even on billboards.

Patrick is the author and illustrator of twelve picture books for children. These are mostly non-fiction books about things like knights, pirates, ships, and dinosaurs, although he has done a couple of science-ficition books about dinosaurs in space.

In 2003 Patrick began creating oil paintings of maritime scenes. In 2010 the U.S. Naval Academy Museum mounted an exhibition featuring twenty-eight of his maritime paintings. In 2012, The National Maritime Historical Society awarded O’Brien with their Distinguished Service Award for his body of artwork. See www.PatrickOBrienStudio.com

Patrick teaches part-time in the illustration department at The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.

Reviews

[crashqueen73 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book to my class today and I have to rate this book very lowly because it was very NOT engaging. I even had one of my students pipe up, "Sorry, but this is not a good book" and I had to agree. Way too much content. And that content wasn't all that. I was disappointed overall.

[Amara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is too cool!!! Perfect for young readers interested in space. Lots of information on life on Mars, general facts on Mars, and differences between Mars and Earth.

[Rachel Friel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an informational text written from the perspective of a child taking a trip to mars. It provides factual information of Mars' atmosphere, gravity, composition, distance from earth, environment, climatic conditions, topography, and more. It also discusses what the purpose for visiting mars would be and how scientists want to explore mars for possible life forms. Besides providing facts through the perspective of what a trip to mars would be like, the author also provides a list of additional facts at the end of the book in bullet format. This book is not your ordinary informational text. The text is written in a creative, fun, and interactive way that would easily catch a reader's interest while simultaneously providing them with accurate, factual information.
I would use this book in both science and reading with my students. It provides a wealth of knowledge of exploration, science investigations, space, planets, gravity, atmosphere, and more. It would also be a good book to discuss perspective and author's purpose since it is not written in a common format.
This book was a WOW book for me because I normally have no interest in reading informational texts. I was not excited for this weeks genre, but this book pleasantly surprised me. I assumed informational texts would just be a list of facts and hard to read such as reading a textbook. Instead, this book had a storyline and appeals to children my students' ages. I never thought of an informational text being written as a story, but this author did an excellent job. I will definitely use this book in my future classroom!

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O'Brien is like going on a big adventure to Mars. The book tells you all about how life could be there and what it's like to explore Mars.

So, you know how we learn about spaceships and rockets? Well, this book talks about them too! It shows you this really cool spacecraft that takes you all the way to Mars. Can you imagine being in a spaceship and zooming through space? I thought that part was so exciting.

And guess what? The book tells you what the journey to Mars would feel like! It's like going on a super long trip, and the book makes you feel like you're right there, traveling to Mars. It's like an adventure in your imagination.

Mars is so different from Earth. The book talks about all the amazing things you'd see on Mars – like different landscapes and places to explore. I really, really wish Mars was like a theme park, like Disney World, so we could visit all those awesome spots.

The story is told by someone who's like a storyteller, and sometimes you get to see things from the perspective of a kid who's on Mars. Even though we don't know the kid's name, it's so cool to see everything through their eyes.

This book is kind of short, but it's filled with so many cool details. If you're into spaceships, rockets, or exploring space, you'll love this book. And you know what? I learned something really important too. It's that there's no place in the whole universe that's too big or too amazing to explore. We can learn so much from all the different places out there.

So, if you want to go on a space adventure without leaving your room, you should totally read "You Are the First Kid on Mars." It's a STEM book, which means it's great for learning about science, technology, engineering, and math. Have a blast reading!

Check out my full review of this book on my YouTube channel. It's got everything you need to know about this amazing read.
https://youtu.be/eFCITdo2IpI

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting at all. From the cover art, I was expecting a clever story about a child adventuring on Mars. And, although it is about a child visiting Mars, it is instead a technologically detailed, futuristic view of what traveling to Mars might be like in the future. It is almost written like a cross between a manual and a travel guide.

When we finished, I asked my son if he liked the book and he said yes. He's 5. I, on the other hand, didn't love it. So, I guess the audience is 5-10 year olds interested in space and science.

[Ian McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super book on martian exploration. Lots of facts and figures about Mars and brilliantly illustrated to really bring scenes from the planet - and from the (as yet!) imaginary journey - to life. This really fired the imagination of my two daughters when we read it. My only (small) gripe is the lack of a girl to explore. "First kids on Mars" perhaps - with a brother and sister together. This would illustrate that girls will be explorers of Mars when the time comes too.

[Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Yet reading it aloud to my children they lost interest and I think it was mostly due to the pacing of the story. Sometimes there seemed to be too many details and then others not enough. The concept was a good one and the art was good my kids enjoyed looking at the pictures.

[Megan Bogle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright: 2009
Genre: Science Fiction
Themes: Space, Rockets, Robots, Life on Mars
I think that students will really enjoy this book. There is a good balance of factual information and fiction. This book could be a fun read-aloud in the classroom. It could be used to introduce a unit on space and the planets.

[Travis Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Copyright 2009. Theme Space. Favorite part is the section detailing the giant space elevator. Goes through what is involved in putting a person on mars. Would be a good source for a student to use on a research project or on a unit involving space.

[Nicole Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about what it might be like if, hypothetically, you could live as a kid on Mars in the future. My 6-year-old son loved it. It had a lot of details and we learned about all that would have to happen for people to live on Mars.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough.

[Rachel Yoder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me a lot of The Martian (the movie). Pictures and everything.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional book with real life mars facts about a child moving to mars for six months and exploring the area. Elementary and up

[Connor Krawczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for kids that are interested in a story based on another planet. This also has some great facts about Mars, so I could use this book to teach children a bit about Mars.

[Jessica Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story and illustrations

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

You Are The First Kid On Mars
Auth/Ill: Patrick O'Brien
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright 2009
Genre: Science Fiction
Interest Level: 7-12
Personal Rating: 3
Extras: none

Annotation: This is the story of what it would be like to be the first kid on the first Mars colony. Focus is given on the technology required to travel from Earth to Mars.

Dust Jacket: Is the same as the cover. The front flap has a description of the book and the end flap praises the author/illustrator for his other books.

Endpages: Are a plain red color, perhaps to go with the iron-colored theme of Mars itself. We are already getting immersed into the feel of the story.

Half-Title Page: Bold all-caps lettering over a close-up of the kid's head in his space suit makes has that original scifi feel to it, with blur of motion and the reflection of the mars landscape.

Title Page: Does not exist for this book.

Copyright/Verso Page: Is in the back of the book. Has a dedication and also a warning to not scan/upload/distribute the book. Has a couple other books listed in the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.

First Opening: The verso starts with a night scene of a young boy looking up at the stars. The recto has a picture of Mars with a white border going around the page.

Bleed: The first page bleeds, the second has a large white border.

Full Bleed: These occur in the book in order to show the vastness of space or landscape. Dramatic moments are enhanced in order to bring the reader into the situation, though are not always from the viewpoint of the main character, which may have been more powerful.

Borders: A white border around a close up of Mars is probably trying to capture the feeling that we have of being separated from the red planet.

Double page spread:

Media: Oil paintings

Technique: He does a lot of blending and shading to create realistic looking scenes and people.

Style: His paintings are very realistic and look as if they could be real life images. Many of the pages have a comic book look to them, as they are smaller square images on the page framed by a white border. Sometimes, though, he blurs the paintings as if they are part of a dream.

Overall Design: You definitely feel like you are reading a science fiction as you view the pages, but the text is more “fact” based.

How well it works with the text: The text is either in black or white, depending on its position in either the illustration or on the white border of the page. It makes it look as if this is a factual book, but the oil paintings work with the “story” to enhance the reader's imagination.

Other: The use of the iron color throughout the book helps to create the setting of “the whole planet is covered in a reddish haze.” The last opening has more factual information about Mars.

Additional Comments: This book is very boy themed, though young girls with an interest in science and space should enjoy it just as much. Some of the text will require help from the teacher to understand the purpose of the machinery and why things are called what they are. Aliens are mentioned, so be prepared to deal with questions concerning their possible existence. I don't recommend reading this before bed but it would make a great reference book and would work well in a science fiction book browse. An activity could involve students designing their own space technology, including a completely self-sufficient space station.

[Teresa Scherping Moulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would it be like to be the first kid on Mars? Someday human beings might establish a colony on Mars, where scientists, engineers, astronauts, and their families might live and work. Imagine taking a space elevator up to a space station that orbits the earth. Imagine boarding a rocket that travels at 75,000 miles per hour and traveling for four months just to get to "the red planet." Imagine all the amazing things you might see - Martian dust devils, old abandoned Mars rovers, and even a mountain that's three times taller than Mt. Everest!

This was a fun read, and I could see it appealing to a wide range of ages. The speculation of what a Mars colony might be like seemed very realistic to me, and I learned a lot about Mars that I didn't know. I hope none of the information is outdated, however, because it was published back in 2009. The illustrations have a very appealing almost-photograph quality, and the one wordless two-page spread is beautiful. It's a short book but still very inspiring.

I would recommend this book for third to fifth graders. Younger children might enjoy it as well, especially if they are big fans of space. Readalikes might include Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space by Amy E. Sklansky, My Tourist Guide to the Solar System and Beyond by Lewis Dartnell, or even June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Answering the questions on many kids’ minds when imagining life in space, this book “will tell you what would happen, and what you would do, if you were the first kid on Mars.” Using the second person, O’Brien then takes readers through every step of the four-month trip from Earth to Mars: aboard space elevators, orbital stations, transport rockets, landing modules, and more. These descriptions help give a speculatively scientific feel to the proceedings, full of technology that isn’t that far off. Indeed, by involving the reader directly in the story, O’Brien helps ensure that they won’t even realize they’re learning all sorts of wonderful things about gravity, distance, geology, and life along the way. As strong as the narrative can be, though, it’s really the visuals that will drop the most jaws. The nearly photorealistic scenes of space travel and planetary exploration are a rare example of warm and immediate digital rendering, although admittedly the faces can look a little creepy here and there. But it’s easy to look past that and get lost imagining oneself exploring the pristinely serene scenery of the Red Planet. Until such a thing is possible, this is as close as a child will get—and even in this guise, it’s a pretty neat experience.

[Ed]

O’Brien, Patrick. (2009). You Are the First Kid on Mars. New York: Putnam. 32 pp. ISBN 0-399-24634-7 (Hardcover); $16.99

Using the most current information about space travel, O’Brien speculates on what it is like to be a student traveling to Mars. This journey of 35 million miles begins with your trip in the space elevator and ends with your longing to return home after six months on Mars. O’Brien reunites us with the Sojourner, the first Mars rover, that landed on Mars back in 1997. When I was an elementary student, I remember reading and writing about the various vehicles that would transport one on another planet. In my day, this was called science fiction. O’Brien will have students speculating and predicting based on both solid, factual information AND an active imagination, the hallmark of our best scientists! While the picture book format will have students tempted into thinking it is only for elementary students, the small font and the concept presented is perfectly appropriate for older students. I can envision middle school teachers using this book as a way to encourage students to evaluate the feasibility of travel to Mars or to fill in additional details of the fourteen month round trip to Mars and back. This one is a lot of fun!

[Pam Vass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about the planet Mars and it is narrated and the protagonist is any child that is reading the book. It takes them on a journey from the standpoint of them being an astronaut and goes through what life is like from setting foot on a space station to landing on the actual planet Mars. The illustrations were created digitally by computer software and look very much like actual photographs. The theme concerning potential life on Mars is not offensive to Creation from a Christian perspective. It presents pictures of what people usually think “Martians” look like and makes what is likely to be found more realistic for any child to understand including water, and plants creating oxygen for those living and doing research on Mars. It certainly is a book that most elementary school boys would enjoy and many may read it and be inspired to become an astronaut because it makes it such a realistic choice. It was very informative in a simplistic manner for young children to read with ease.

[Jonathan Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about what it would be like to live on Mars. It gives a lot of information about the planet and about what might possibly live there and about the climate. Basically, it explained what it would look like in the future if space travel to Mars were possible. Part of why I liked this book so much is because it was obviously very futuristic in describing how life on Mars would be possible, but it didn’t seem outrageous or that it wouldn’t be possible in the next decade or so. With our modern technology, the explanation in this book seemed very probable. It was also written as if the reader is the first kid on Mars, and it told them what you are currently doing on the red planet. It was very fascinating and it was a good book to imagine yourself in that particular situation. The paintings were beautiful as well. Thumbs up for this one!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

The friendly, explanatory second-person narration contrasts nicely with the giant grin on the face of the kid as he bounds across the Martian surface. Makes it feel like the book is being narrated by a teacher chaperoning a really good field trip, trying to keep from letting on that she is just as excited as the kids are.

We had the delightful O'Brien family over for dinner this weekend, and after my husband's excellent fish tacos, I had the chance to ask Pat some questions about the book.

Full review and interview on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/200...

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

With photograph-like paintings and detailed text, this book relates what might happen if a child were to visit Mars. I was taken by the pictures and the details of what a child might experience.
A little from the book:
“You can’t go out on the surface of Mars without a space suit. There’s not enough oxygen to breathe, and it is much too cold. You carry air in tanks on your back, and your suit keeps you warm. Gravity on Mars is less than half as strong as on Earth, so you take big, bouncing steps.”
Children’s reactions:
The children who looked at this book commented on how real the pictures looked.
They were pretty evenly divided as to those who liked the book and those who did not.

[Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so interesting (yes, I know I'm a nerd) that although my two year old fell asleep after the third page and my four year old didn't seem all that interested, I still finished the entire thing in one sitting. It totally made me excited to set up a colony on the Red Planet. Who knows maybe they'll pick me to be part of the team! Surely the first Mars colony would need an airline employee. If not I also speak Spanish and am good at having babies. (Or at least my wife is...maybe she'd have to come along too.)
I would've given this book five starts except the illustrations were kind of lame.

[Melissa Hazelbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, it is on my shelf at school to read to my kids towards the end of the year when we briefly hit on space. (It is no longer a standard, but I still like to get into it a little bit). The book offers illustrations which are painted, but look almost like photographs. It explains what might happen if one was "the first kid on Mars". My kids always really get into the book as they think the title is fun and start to think about what they would do if they really were the first kid on Mars!
Read this book to your elementary kids if you are looking for a fun way to to teach them about space travel!

[Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in kindergarten and have just started being interested by space. My parents and I watched a really cool show on Nickelodeon called The Astronauts, about some kids who accidentally end up in a rocket on a space mission. This book reminded us a lot of the space shuttle they are on and had some great information about what it would be like to travel to deep space. The illustrations are realistic and beautifully done. My mom would like us to own a copy of this book. My mom and dad both like imagining life in space too, and they love the appleTV show For All Mankind. This book provides a glimpse of how kids might experience space travel.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Are The First Kid On Mars is written by Patrick O'Brien. This is a wonderful non-fiction book that is written in such a way that it seems like fiction. The pictures also help to increase this effect. Each page reveals more about what a journey to Mars would be like. Each page also reveals more and more interesting facts about Mars. The audience for this book would be children 9 and up or younger if they're an advanced reader. This book would also make a great read aloud. I could use this book in my classroom to discuss space or planets.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely has kid-appeal...what kid wouldn't at least like to dream about being the first one on Mars? The illustrations are realistic. The text is straightforward. The back matter about Mars is pretty basic. One thing that could have made this book better is some additional info about how much of the ideas included are possible/in the works/author's speculation. I don't know much about space travel, so I have no idea how "true" any of this book could be.

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the coolest space book! It imagines what it would be like for a kid to travel to Mars, with great facts about space travel and then both fact and speculation about what it would be like if humans were living and studying on Mars. Perfect for young readers obsessed with space or as an introduction.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information, grounded in science and in science possibilities. The author even mentions that any life that might be found on Mars is more likely to be microscopic, like bacteria, rather than little green men. Speculates what living in a science colony on Mars might be like. A great book for elementary age students, especially those who like science, astronomy, and science fiction.