“Rocket Says Look Up!” by Nathan Bryon, illus. by Dapo Adeola

I bought this shortly after doing my post on picture books by Black authors. Actually, I bought a couple books after that post — I couldn’t help it. But I’m glad I got this one. It was a good read.

Genre:

Children’s Contemporary

Series:

n/a

Pubbed:

2019

Goodreads summary:

Meet Rocket — a plucky aspiring astronaut intent on getting her community to LOOK UP! from what they’re doing and reach for the stars in this auspicious debut picture book.

A comet will be visible tonight, and Rocket wants everyone to see it with her — even her big brother, Jamal, whose attention is usually trained on his phone or video games. Rocket’s enthusiasm brings neighbors and family together to witness a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Perfect for fans of Ada Twist, Scientist and young science lovers excited about the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Look Up! will inspire readers of all ages to dream big as it models Rocket’s passion for science and infectious curiosity. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

Rocket Says Look Up! was a fun read. It’s about a Black girl called Rocket, who wants to be an astronaut like Mae Jemison (the first Black woman to travel into space). When the story begins, Rocket is excited about an upcoming meteor shower. She tells everyone in her community about it and hopes that her older brother, who will take her to the park to see the meteor shower, will put his phone away and enjoy the experience with her.

It’s a sweet story (yep, that’s my “go to” description for picture books). I like how extroverted and talkative Rocket is and her infectious enthusiasm to see the meteor shower. I liked her interactions with her older brother, Jamal, as well. Although Jamal spends the majority of the story stuck on his phone, we also see him get annoyed by his little sister’s antics. It was funny. I also like how it ends showing that the siblings sometimes get along.

I also like the facts about meteor showers that Rocket shares. On one page, these facts were dropped one after the other and we see Jamal look down at her obviously annoyed and over meteor showers, lol.

Art style:

I loved the illustrations and overall design of the book. I bought it because the background colors on the front cover really appealed to me. They give the effect of the night sky with stars peeking out, and I love how Rocket is drawn because of her hairstyle: cornrows going back into a bun with a high, mini afro puff (it’s so cute!).

I also love the endpages — indigo with illustrations of constellations, rockets, planets, stars, astronauts, and other stuff floating around in silver… like being in space.

The illustrations throughout appealed to me and also how they are laid out. I like that Jamal is rocking a high-top fade and the mom rocks a short natural haircut with some big gold earrings! (Love it!) It’s cute that Rocket and her pet cat are always in their astronaut suit. I thought that was funny. And I liked how diverse her community is too.

Overall: ★★★★☆

A fun story about a little girl who wants to be an astronaut pestering her older brother to take her to see a meteor shower. Love the art and I like that there are facts about meteor showers throughout.