Roaring Rockets

Amazing Machines

by Tony Mitton, Ant Parker (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Childrens, Storytime, Science, Transport, Nonfiction

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Gerry]

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.

[Anne]

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!

[Kelsey]

The book felt a little outdated but it was sweet and fun. The animal characters were cute.

[Heather]

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.

[Sheeba Virani]

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.

[Autumn]

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?

[Lauren Duffy]

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.

[Helen Kumpel]

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.

[Sarah]

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!

[Rebecca]

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.

[Gianina]

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.

[Brooke]

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.

[Kristie]

A quick rhyming read sure to appeal to many boys. The last page includes a picture dictionary of rocket parts.

[N]

Great rhymes make for a well received introduction to space for kids.

[Cathie (ClassyLibrarian)]

My story time kids are going to love this book! Bright illustrations, easy text. What’s not to love!?

[Kelly]

Fun board book about a rocket and outer space.

[Maria Shuffit]

Absolutely loved this great little book that shows kids how space shuttles work!

[Michelle Farella]

Good read for the younger set.

[Robin]

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.

[kate]

Very cute, and fits with the Summer Reading 2019 theme. Board book is perfect size for little hands.

[Cathy]

3 yo loves this

[RJ]

Great rhyming story for a science or space storytime. Simple and accessible, but packed with facts!

[Miss Sarah]

Three animal friends are astronauts headed to space in this step by step toddler and up book

[Diane Barber]

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.

[Nancy Solinski]

Cute interactive book about space

[Abbey Pignatari]

3/5 (physical book)

This is a cute book about animal astronauts traveling to the moon. It has a nice rhyming scheme and fun, silly graphics.

[Big]

My son enjoys the sound effects I make, along with the illustrations.

[Kelly Chester]

What a great book pictures were astounding

[Terresa Wellborn]

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

[Kim]

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.