The Might Mars Rover: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch

Rusch, E.The mighty mars rover: The incredible adventures of Spirit and Opportunity. (2012).Boston, MA : Houghton            Mifflin Books for Children.

The Might Mars Rover: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch is an informational book that is part of the Scientists in the Field series.  It was published in 2012 and was on the ALSC Notable Book List in 2013. It’s the intriguing story about the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, launched in 2003 to find out if there was water on Mars that could have once supported life.

This book could be used in the classroom for research on space exploration. Students could work in groups to create presentations on various space missions including this one. Other missions could include the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon and the difficult Apollo 13 mission. Then students could present their findings to the whole class or even other classes.

I really enjoyed this informational book on the rovers!  It is filled with facts and history about the Mars rover programs.  The photographs are stunning and the captions really help enhance the story. The story is told in such a way that you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Students would love this kind of suspense especially in a nonfiction text.  This book would be a great addition to any elementary or even middle school classroom or library!

(Image retrieved from amazon.com)