Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Amazing Machines

Roaring Rockets

Rate this book
Amazing Machines: Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

Rockets have power. They rise and roar. This rocket's waiting, ready to soar. Rockets carry astronauts with cool, white suits oxygen helmets and gravity boots. Blast off with more out-of-this-world couplets! This time it is machines that fly. In bright and bold illustrations that are as witty as the text, the animal crew roars and whizzes into outer space.

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

7 people are currently reading
227 people want to read

About the author

Tony Mitton

273 books45 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
178 (28%)
4 stars
219 (35%)
3 stars
183 (29%)
2 stars
29 (4%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Gerry.
Author 43 books118 followers
February 1, 2022
Tony Mitton, with the help of Ant Parker's colourful illustrations, tells a tale of three small animals going into space and it forms a useful introduction for youngsters to understand a little about space travel.

The animals arrive at the rocket 'with cool white suits, oxygen helmets and gravity boots' but they don't wear any of them until they land on the moon!

After countdown they are off, then the booster rockets drop away and the astronauts are in charge en route for the moon.

Once there, the lunar lander goes down to the surface of the moon and lets two of the animals explore the silent space.

Leaving the lunar lander behind, they somehow get back to their rocket and begin the return journey and they eventually splash down in the sea with 'a sizzling splash'. A helicopter then takes them away for debriefing.

It's a simple interpretation of the event but does have a meaningful dictionary of 'Rocket bits' to finish off.
Profile Image for Anne.
2 reviews
March 17, 2013
My son and I love this book! The art style is energetic, drawn with big bright shapes and thick animated lines. The rhymes are perfect for reading aloud with enthusiasm. I love that the "Amazing Machines" series from Tony Mitton and Ant Parker are educational for both kids and adults. I myself learned the names of different rocket and spaceship parts while reading this to my son. How endearing it was to hear him try to pronounce lunar lander... "Lunder lander!" This was a great book: affordable, short and sweet, cute and educational, perfect for my little two-year-old who loves to learn all things about space!
1,249 reviews
July 10, 2024
The book felt a little outdated but it was sweet and fun. The animal characters were cute.
Profile Image for Heather.
1,949 reviews1 follower
July 27, 2011
26 months - a few weeks ago we were over at friends and they had "Cool Cars" and I read it to my daughter. It was a simple book that introduced new vocabulary so I sought out this one about rockets. Again a simple introduction to new vocabulary and concepts. What was really cute about this book was on the first page O said this is like one at Georgia's house. She recognized the illustration style immediately. This was the second time in one day she connected books together by the same author/illustrator based on illustration style.
Profile Image for Sheeba Virani.
41 reviews1 follower
April 18, 2012
This book is a great way to introduce children to the world of space and space travel. The book has facts about rocket ships and astronauts that children always enjoy. The entire book is rhyming so it is fun for children to read.

Extension
Create a flannel board activity set depicting different parts of a rocket ship. As you read the book to a whole group put the pieces together and create the rocket ship. You can leave the activity set for children to explore and name parts of the ship.
Profile Image for Autumn.
2,341 reviews47 followers
February 3, 2014
We picked this book up from our public library.

Cute and easy to read. Loved the illustrations of the animals going to the moon to explore and making it back home. I liked the ending where it gives explanations to the Rocket Bits. K is big on space and so when he picked this book I knew he would enjoy it. The rhyming, the pictures all went very well together. This is a book that is perfect for all ages I would say maybe 3 or 4 to about maybe 9?
Profile Image for Lauren Duffy.
209 reviews1 follower
May 13, 2020
Don’t underestimate this little picture book. It does a fantastic job of teaching little learners about rockets and how rockets help get astronauts to space. Simple words and playful drawings explain how a rocket works in a way that young kids can understand. Short. Colorful. Informative. Fun. Two thumbs up from my space loving 5 year old.
108 reviews2 followers
September 17, 2012
Who this book would be for: PreK-K
Reflection:
I love this book for young readers and ESOL students. The book shows the different parts of a rocket and shows a journey into Space. Also, at the end of the book is a glossary with all the terms used to describe a rocket and the job of each part.

Profile Image for Sarah.
8 reviews
November 6, 2012
I love this book. It has great descriptive words, pictures and pretty accurate. It is a great read and could easily be made to a music and movement activity. The text rhymes and the pictures are detailed and explains rocket ship parts. The animal crew roars and whizzes through outer space!
Profile Image for Rebecca.
125 reviews36 followers
August 5, 2014
Very good, the children were fascinated. Everyone felt bad for poor Owl who had to stay and mind the rocket just like Michael Collins in the original moon landing. But unlike Michael Collins he got to go for an extra spin while he waited.
Profile Image for Gianina.
103 reviews3 followers
February 25, 2016
So we did amazing airplanes by the same illustrator and I was prepared to dislike this one because of the ugly bird, rat, rabbit trio in all these books. That said, I have to admit it is a good learning tool about rockets for a early introduction to the concept of space travel.
Profile Image for Brooke.
303 reviews
February 8, 2017
This is an excellent rhyming book on rockets. A group of animals go to outer space. The book itself is physically a bit small, but has nice pictures. It would be good to use for a storytime on outer space or rockets.
Profile Image for N.
912 reviews13 followers
April 22, 2009
Great rhymes make for a well received introduction to space for kids.
Profile Image for Cathie (ClassyLibrarian).
686 reviews9 followers
March 27, 2018
My story time kids are going to love this book! Bright illustrations, easy text. What’s not to love!?
Profile Image for Robin.
2,278 reviews2 followers
December 18, 2018
This didn't feel as well done as the others in the series, but still a solid transportation read-aloud. Recommended for ages 2-4.
Profile Image for kate.
621 reviews57 followers
May 14, 2019
Very cute, and fits with the Summer Reading 2019 theme. Board book is perfect size for little hands.
Profile Image for RJ.
Author 8 books66 followers
July 17, 2019
Great rhyming story for a science or space storytime. Simple and accessible, but packed with facts!
Profile Image for Diane Barber.
57 reviews23 followers
October 6, 2019
Really cute book that is easy to read. I love the bright colors and fun pictures that goes with the few words on each page.
Profile Image for Big .
6 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2020
My son enjoys the sound effects I make, along with the illustrations.
Profile Image for Terresa Wellborn.
2,578 reviews34 followers
April 27, 2023
It's harder than you'd imagine to find suitable storytime picture books for littles, so I'm giving this book 4 stars: 3 for content & illustrations + 1 star for ease of use during storytimes. Also, amazingly this book doesn't appear dated, even though the publication year is 1997! So kudos to author & illustrator on this one.

Simple, rhyming text and cute illustrations. Perfect for a toddler or preK storytime.
Backmatter: "Rocket Parts" with brief illustrations.

Themes: space
Ages: toddler-preK
Pub year: 1997
637 reviews2 followers
Read
January 24, 2024
Less than to 1 sentence per page. Small book, so it would be a bit difficult to use for larger storytimes. Animals are depicted as main characters. Shows the different items needed for space, what happens in space, when you land in space, and re-entering Earth in a simple way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.