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Hello, Opportunity: The Story of Our Friend on Mars
Humans wanted to soar through the sky, and we did. We wanted to go to the moon, and we did. Then we set our sights on a little red planet, so far out we couldn’t go ourselves. Instead, we sent a friend. We named her Opportunity because it means “a good chance” and feels like hope.
With nine eyes, three ears, one arm, and six wheels, Oppy explored the mysterious terrain of Mars, gathering samples, snapping photos, and discovering vast craters. Everywhere held new and exciting surprises!
Until one day, a storm came, and it was time to say goodbye…for now. We still hope Oppy may wake up someday.
Kids will be amazed by Opportunity’s groundbreaking Mars mission as they see the red planet through her eyes, and the eyes of the scientists who loved her.
With nine eyes, three ears, one arm, and six wheels, Oppy explored the mysterious terrain of Mars, gathering samples, snapping photos, and discovering vast craters. Everywhere held new and exciting surprises!
Until one day, a storm came, and it was time to say goodbye…for now. We still hope Oppy may wake up someday.
Kids will be amazed by Opportunity’s groundbreaking Mars mission as they see the red planet through her eyes, and the eyes of the scientists who loved her.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2022
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 14, 2022
I wrote it. I think it's great. 5 stars.
Little Me, who was very angry we had never been to Mars, would also have loved it. 5 stars from 90s baby Shae.
Little Me, who was very angry we had never been to Mars, would also have loved it. 5 stars from 90s baby Shae.
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May 19, 2023A NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK JUST MADE ME CRY
May 13, 2023
Very cute, beginning with a brief history of flight that ties to the human desire to visit Mars. This gives a history of why we need rovers to explore, what Opportunity discovered, and also her sad demise (even though she operated for fourteen years instead of three months!) excellent introduction with great illustrations.
December 18, 2022
This narrative is pedantic, but the back-matter is wonderful. All in all, a good addition to our collection.
July 7, 2024
A great story for kids interested in Mars and the rovers. The narrative format makes it an engaging story for younger and older kids
September 20, 2022
Some of you may know that I was an early childhood science educator before I became a mama - as a result I have an incredibly soft spot for childhood wonder and awe. While teaching I got to know many children who looked up at the night sky with amazement and curiosity - asking questions my adult mind could never have imagined. It was such a gift to learn about our cosmos (and those who explore them) alongside them. When Page Street Kids (@pagestreetkids) sent our family an incredible new picture book about Opportunity (a rover that resides on Mars) I knew that I had to share this out of this world book.
“Hello, Opportunity : The Story of Our Friend on Mars”
✍️: Shaelyn McDonald
🎨: Cornelia Li
It seems like quite the challenge to write a scientific book that can evoke real emotion and foster a meaningful connection to space exploration, but in this book McDaniel and Li have truly risen to the challenge.
In “Hello Opportunity” young readers meet the exploratory rover lovingly nicknamed “Oppy” as she embarks on a journey to Mars. On the Red Planet, Oppy collects and sends data to excited scientists and citizens of Earth who wonder about what secrets the dusty red planet of Mars might hold. Originally only intended to remain at work on the planet for 3 months, Oppy remained and collected data for fifteen years until she finally ran out of battery power following a dust storm on the planet. She may be asleep now but she is not lost, Oppy awaits the day she will greet human visitors to the Red Planet.
One of the most fantastic things about this book is how skillfully the author and illustrator worked together to create a relationship between the reader and the rover. Unlike some science picture books which can be heavy on facts but light on narrative, “Hello Opportunity” is a shining example of how we can make science learning meaningful and fun. Paired with retro style and rust colored illustrations that truly reflect the images sent back by Opportunity and other rovers, this story is simply beautiful. Sure to inspire conversations about space exploration it would be a wonderful addition to early childhood and elementary science lessons.
This copy was gifted but all opinions are my own.
“Hello, Opportunity : The Story of Our Friend on Mars”
✍️: Shaelyn McDonald
🎨: Cornelia Li
It seems like quite the challenge to write a scientific book that can evoke real emotion and foster a meaningful connection to space exploration, but in this book McDaniel and Li have truly risen to the challenge.
In “Hello Opportunity” young readers meet the exploratory rover lovingly nicknamed “Oppy” as she embarks on a journey to Mars. On the Red Planet, Oppy collects and sends data to excited scientists and citizens of Earth who wonder about what secrets the dusty red planet of Mars might hold. Originally only intended to remain at work on the planet for 3 months, Oppy remained and collected data for fifteen years until she finally ran out of battery power following a dust storm on the planet. She may be asleep now but she is not lost, Oppy awaits the day she will greet human visitors to the Red Planet.
One of the most fantastic things about this book is how skillfully the author and illustrator worked together to create a relationship between the reader and the rover. Unlike some science picture books which can be heavy on facts but light on narrative, “Hello Opportunity” is a shining example of how we can make science learning meaningful and fun. Paired with retro style and rust colored illustrations that truly reflect the images sent back by Opportunity and other rovers, this story is simply beautiful. Sure to inspire conversations about space exploration it would be a wonderful addition to early childhood and elementary science lessons.
This copy was gifted but all opinions are my own.
February 25, 2026
If you want a book that sparks childhood curiosity and thought, this is the ticket.
This book is one of twenty of the 2025-2026 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee books I'm reading to eleven classes of students ranging from Kindergarten through fourth grade this school year. Students will vote on their favorite book in April. I think this one will be a top contender, if not a runaway winner.
This, right here, is why I gave this book 5 stars: the students' reactions. This book brought out what every educator wants to see when their students read or have a story read to them.
In each class, I read this to, hands went up after every page, ready for sharing, questions, and discussions. Thoughtful questions about Mars, the sun bringing night and day to planets, Opportunity's build and mechanisms, how we communicated with her, her energy source, will she charge and work if her panels were cleared, and so much more. The kids got emotionally invested in Opportunity's welfare. They had ideas on how the design could have been improved that may have kept her going, like angled solar panels that sand couldn't sit on easily, or "windshield wipers" to clear the panels off, just to name a couple.
The ending was followed by lots of extra facts and a timeline, which helped me answer many questions.
Did this book make me weepy? It definitely got me in the feels, as it did for the students, too.
I highly recommend this book for any library collection, especially elementary school libraries. Enjoy!
This book is one of twenty of the 2025-2026 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee books I'm reading to eleven classes of students ranging from Kindergarten through fourth grade this school year. Students will vote on their favorite book in April. I think this one will be a top contender, if not a runaway winner.
This, right here, is why I gave this book 5 stars: the students' reactions. This book brought out what every educator wants to see when their students read or have a story read to them.
In each class, I read this to, hands went up after every page, ready for sharing, questions, and discussions. Thoughtful questions about Mars, the sun bringing night and day to planets, Opportunity's build and mechanisms, how we communicated with her, her energy source, will she charge and work if her panels were cleared, and so much more. The kids got emotionally invested in Opportunity's welfare. They had ideas on how the design could have been improved that may have kept her going, like angled solar panels that sand couldn't sit on easily, or "windshield wipers" to clear the panels off, just to name a couple.
The ending was followed by lots of extra facts and a timeline, which helped me answer many questions.
Did this book make me weepy? It definitely got me in the feels, as it did for the students, too.
I highly recommend this book for any library collection, especially elementary school libraries. Enjoy!
November 2, 2022
𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥
𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐢 @𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚_𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝟎𝟗.𝟐𝟎.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞
I was always fascinated with space exploration and very intrigued with martians ever since I could remember. I have heard about Oppy, and I was glad to learn more about how she was able to collect data for fifteen years, well beyond the three month as originally intended.
I loved how when I read this out loud to my niece and nephew, it sparked a great conversation about Mars, space travel, and scientific discoveries. The illustrations were well thought out, colors vibrant, and just absolutely beautiful.
The narrative told a great story about the relationship between Oppy and how much she has helped her human friends.
I loved that Hello Opportunity was not just informational, but tells a story with heart and hope, perfect for reading aloud and guaranteed to give a sparkle to inquiring minds of any age.
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥
𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐢 @𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚_𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝟎𝟗.𝟐𝟎.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞
I was always fascinated with space exploration and very intrigued with martians ever since I could remember. I have heard about Oppy, and I was glad to learn more about how she was able to collect data for fifteen years, well beyond the three month as originally intended.
I loved how when I read this out loud to my niece and nephew, it sparked a great conversation about Mars, space travel, and scientific discoveries. The illustrations were well thought out, colors vibrant, and just absolutely beautiful.
The narrative told a great story about the relationship between Oppy and how much she has helped her human friends.
I loved that Hello Opportunity was not just informational, but tells a story with heart and hope, perfect for reading aloud and guaranteed to give a sparkle to inquiring minds of any age.
October 18, 2023
McDaniel's writing is simple and straightforward. The illustrations are kid-friendly. The back matter is super informative including a timeline and a diagram of Opportunity and its parts.
McDaniel's anthropomorphizes Opportunity. (NASA may also have done this but their current pages refer to Oppy as the rover, not as "she.") For example, she writes "And since we were friends, we gave her a nickname--Oppy." Is that why NASA decided to give the rover a nickname???? Honestly, I think our students can handle an informative book about a rover without making the rover our friend but then again NASA interacted with Oppy as though she was a kind of AI partner in this exploration, responding to Oppy's messages and so forth. Maybe McDaniels choices are justified. This is totally worthy of discussing with our students.
McDaniel's anthropomorphizes Opportunity. (NASA may also have done this but their current pages refer to Oppy as the rover, not as "she.") For example, she writes "And since we were friends, we gave her a nickname--Oppy." Is that why NASA decided to give the rover a nickname???? Honestly, I think our students can handle an informative book about a rover without making the rover our friend but then again NASA interacted with Oppy as though she was a kind of AI partner in this exploration, responding to Oppy's messages and so forth. Maybe McDaniels choices are justified. This is totally worthy of discussing with our students.
September 15, 2022
Hello, Opportunity is a fantastic picture book for space-loving children! I love the energy in the narrative and the celebration of ingenuity and daring. This book celebrates science and all the wonderful aspects of NASA that children really cling to. The illustrations are vibrant and wonderfully celebrate the wonder of Mars, the marvel of the rover Opportunity as well as the care and dedication of the teams that work on these space programs. I appreciate the extra detail in the back to show both the timeline of Mars rover missions as well as details on the aspects of the Opportunity Rover.
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Page Street Kids. Opinions are my own.
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Page Street Kids. Opinions are my own.
February 2, 2023
I wasn't sure what to expect before reading Hello Opportunity. It's non-fiction. It's science. It's about a rover named Opportunity I admittedly had not heard of before. What I found was a delightful book! It's factual without being overly wordy. A pleasant read that touches emotions one wouldn't expect to feel and yet gladly does as the narrative carries you along. Be sure and take time to enjoy the illustrations too. They are perfect! You'll buy this for a child, but you find you love it just as much, if not more.
October 6, 2022
I received an electronic ARC from Page Street Kids through the SLJ Day of Dialogue.
Informative text about the Opportunity rover. Readers see how scientists developed it, launched it, and communicated with it on Mars. The illustrations capture the red planet and show readers what Oppy saw. McDaniel brings this information to life for elementary level readers.
Informative text about the Opportunity rover. Readers see how scientists developed it, launched it, and communicated with it on Mars. The illustrations capture the red planet and show readers what Oppy saw. McDaniel brings this information to life for elementary level readers.
September 26, 2022
This adorable book is perfect for any child that is obsessed with space or is showing an interest in space. I cannot wait to share this with my young grand-nephew.
Huge thanks to the publisher for trusting me with a gifted copy
Huge thanks to the publisher for trusting me with a gifted copy
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August 6, 2024Book is a little long for a read aloud but includes a lot of information about Opportunity, a rover that landed on Mars in 2004. Could be read aloud in chunks. Very cool illustrations. No AR level, maybe good for grade 1-2-ish, or for individual readers depending on interest in topic.
January 28, 2026
Great story, but it was very emotional for the kids to hear. More tears were shed than I expected and so many questions. All it would have taken was not referring to Oppy as a she and leaving out the super sad last message Oppy sent to NASA.
October 6, 2022
A cute story about opportunity and his trip to Mars with some great background information about his missions and important a facts about the rover. Thanks to slj day of dialogue for the arc!
October 7, 2022
Highly recommended for humans large and small!
October 25, 2022
Engaging and informative. I was rooting for Oppy!
October 26, 2022
I loved this and will be getting it for all the soon-to-be moms in my life. Oppy is such a delight, I highly recommend this one!
January 15, 2023
Very cool! I didn't know that there are 2 rovers on Mars, (i only knew about 1) Opportunity and Spirit. Learned a bunch! Illustrations are excellent.
January 24, 2023
Cute and informative. A good read for space-loving kids. Great illustrations and the text is simple enough for kids.
January 30, 2023
Picture book about the Opportunity rover that explored Mars from 2004-2018.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews