Guest blog post by Shara Zaval, Trade Marketing
Looking for the perfect way to celebrate World Space Week—the largest public space event on Earth—with the future astronauts in your home or classroom? Check out three picture books that are sure to get them into the inter-planetary spirit—Penguinaut! by Marcie Colleen with illustrations by Emma Yarlett, The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk, and Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge.
Learn more about the books below, and get a sneak peek at each creator’s favorite interior spread! Ready? Blast off!
Penguinaut! by Marcie Colleen with illustrations by Emma Yarlett
About the book: Orville lives at the zoo, surrounded by animal pals who go on exciting adventures. Orville struggles to keep up, until one day he concocts an adventure all his own: build a spaceship and fly to the moon all by himself. Can one tiny penguin get there alone?
Favorite spread: My most favorite moment in Penguinaut! is when Orville is "Tumble-Bumble-Ba Boing-ing" all over the moon. What pure elation he must feel at having accomplished this amazing feat. Many people thumb through the book and see the moon spreads and are taken aback. "Oh! He made it?!" There was never a doubt in my mind that he would. It is my hope that readers will be encouraged by Orville's determination and persistence. If Orville can achieve his goal, they can achieve theirs!
—Marcie Colleen
The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk
About the book: Oh hey, guess what? The sun never stops working to keep things on Earth running smoothly. (That's why it's been Employee of the Month for 4.5 billion years.) So why does the sun get to be the center of attention? Because it's our solar system's very own star! This funny and factual picture book from Awkward Yeti creator Nick Seluk explains every part of the sun's big job: keeping our solar system together, giving earth day and night, keeping us warm, and more. In fact, the sun does so much for us that we wouldn't be alive without it. That's kind of a big deal.
Favorite spread: My favorite spread is where the planets introduce themselves because it was fun to make and I learned some things along the way that surprised me (for example, learning that Venus is the hottest planet even though Mercury is closer to the sun). I think it’s nice to get a sense of the characters in this early spread.
—Nick Seluk
Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge
About the book: Climb aboard for a bedtime picture book sure to appeal to every kid's sense of wonder. Young readers will love stepping into the cockpit of a wonderful rocket ship that takes them zipping through the planets, stars, and space, all the way back home to Earth and their cozy beds!
Favorite spread: My favorite spread in the book is “The Journey Home” through our solar system. As the book is really colorful and hectic, I thought it would be natural for people to speed through a lot of the spreads. So, for the journey home, my goal was to slow them down so they could take in each planet visually and wonder at our amazing solar system before heading home (spoiler alert!) for a very special surprise! If you want to see the process of creating “The Journey Home,” you can watch the video, here!
—Richard Collingridge
