Life On Mars by Jon Agee

When a young boy astronaut lands his rocket ship on Mars, he sets off on a quiet adventure to search for life.  From the beginning, the reader sees that the boy is carrying a gift, making the reader curious as to what is in the box.  As the boy walks and searches, the story unfolds from the boy's point-of-view.   Will he find life on Mars?  While the illustrations complement the text, they also tell a separate part of the story (from the watchful eyes of the elusive alien)  to which the boy is oblivious.  Is it possible that life is hiding in plain sight? 

The text is simple with a few possibly unfamiliar vocabulary words such as "disaster" and "gloomy".  Having students write about these words in their vocabulary journals and acting out the new words are possible activities to consider.  Students love making guesses about what is in the box from the beginning. When the author finally reveals what is in the box (chocolate cupcakes), the question, "Why did he bring that?" arises. Students may write about why they think the boy brings chocolate cupcakes.  Another possible activity with this book is to have students write a spin-off story from the alien's point of view an illustrate it.

This book was one of my students' new favorites this year. They love the surprise at the end and they love to talk about what might happen next if the story continued.  I will also share this book, and it's potential as an IRA (Interactive Read Aloud) with my teachers.