The Black Dinosaurs have always explored the past in their adventures, but now they're going into the future - to Space Camp! They'll learn what weightlessness feels like, what astronauts eat, even how they go to the bathroom! Ziggy, of course, really wants to meet up with aliens - purple, three-headed, fire-spitting Martians like the ones in his Mega Mighty Martian Blaster game. Ziggy soon discovers that real-life space travel is just as exciting as anything even his active imagination can cook up. Still, he can't help wondering where the mysterious shiny stone he finds might have come from...
Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award, and is a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This was a more contained kind of adventure/mystery than the previous books, but my 6-year-old and I enjoyed it either way. The Black Dinosaurs go to space camp, where they participate in simulated space missions and learn a lot about space travel. My son didn't seem to mind the abundance of facts that were shared, although he was very sad about the first dog in space dying (more so than when he learned about the Challenger disaster, actually). As with the previous books, it gave us the opportunity for good discussions, punctuated by Ziggy's antics and other humor.
I have been looking for space related books to use as a read aloud for my third graders. I am a big Sharon Draper fan, so this book was a win-win!! I would say this book is less mystery and more adventure. I like the details about space camp in Huntsville, AL. I know those will appeal to the students. I appreciate the realistic touches in this book. Also, I like the facts that astronauts of several ethnic backgrounds are mentioned in the book. I think my students will like taking those names and researching to learn more about them. I look forward to reading this book to my students.
Part of a series of books about four boys who have a Mystery Club in their hometown. They take time off from sleuthing to attend Space Camp. The kids a good mix of humor and learning as the group participates in camp activities. I am disappointed by the lack of a mystery to solve, although I did wonder about the bananas. I read this along with my 11 year old nephew who was assigned this novel for a book report.
This is the fourth book in this children's series. I love it 4 Black boys that have different backgrounds but come from loving families. Always informative always a little silly. I wish we had more books on the market like this. A good read for a classroom teacher or for students in middle school. I am going to check and see if this author has written anything besides this series. This is the 3rd one in the series I have read. There are 3 more in this series I need/want to find.
I enjoyed this book as an easy, elementary read. I appreciated how it used the context of these kids going to space camp to share real space facts with the readers. The only dock in points is due to the lack of a mystery. Otherwise, this book delivers as promised.
children's story, with the bonus of factual info, i learned something about space too. not edge of the seat stuff, but a fun light read. would definitely recommend for younger children 7+ .
The stuff about space and astronauts was very cool, the vagueness about aliens a little annoying. But after reading it with Daddy my 7yo was telling me he wants to go to space camp!
its about Ziggy finds this green stone and thinks its from a martian but soon figures out that it belongs to a astronaut she got it from her grandmother and says that she thinks its from a martian too.
I think this book is good book for me. The reason I say that is because I understand what the book is talking about, the words are clear to me, and it's just a good book i would recommend this book.
I think Ziggy has a great imagination because in the beginning Rico, Jerome, and Rashawn said that Ziggy had weird eating habits like putting a pickle in his hot chocolate and putting green jello on his taco. Weird I know.