Mars Imaginings: The Story
Suggested Books
Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier
Jonathan Strahan, Viking Juvenile, 2011, ISBN 0670012165
Award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan has brought together 13 original stories to explore the possibilities of traveling and living on Mars. For children ages 11 and up.
Mars (Chapter 7)
Ben Bova, Bantum Spectra, 1993, ISBN 055356241X
Twenty-five astronauts of the international Mars mission set down on the harsh and unforgiving planet and soon face deadly meteor showers, subzero temperatures, and a mysterious virus. For children ages 10 and up.
Messages from Mars
Andrew Schuerger and Loreen Leedy, Holiday House, 2006, ISBN 0823419541
In the year 2106, junior astronauts and planetary scientists take a journey together to Mars and report their wealth of discoveries about the Red Planet to their friends back on Earth. A fun and informative read for children ages 8–13.
Out of the Silent Planet (Chapter 7)
C. S. Lewis, Scribner, 2003, ISBN 0743234901
Out of the Silent Planet begins the adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom. First published in 1943. For children ages 9 and up.
Rabbits on Mars (Picture Book)
Jan Wahl and Kimberly Schaber, Lerner Publishing Group, 2003, ISBN 1575055112
Tired of their hard life on Earth, where dogs chase them, winters are cold, and carrots scarce, three rabbit friends build a rocket ship and journey to Mars in hopes of finding a better life. For children ages 5 and up.
Red Planet
Robert Heinlein, Del Rey, 2006, ISBN 0345493184
Jim Marlow and his strange-looking martian friend Willis were allowed to travel only so far. But one day Willis unwittingly tuned into a treacherous plot that threatened all the colonists on Mars, and it set Jim off on a terrifying adventure that could save — or destroy — them all! For children ages 10 and up.
Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot Vs. The Mecha-Monkeys from Mars
Dav Pilkey, Scholastic, Inc., 2002, ISBN 0439252962
Ricky Ricotta and his Mighty Robot are in big trouble. Now it’s up to Ricky to rescue his robot and keep Major Monkey from menacing mankind. For children ages 4 and up.
Robot Wars
Sigmund Brouwer, Tyndale House Publishers, 2009, ISBN 1414323093
Set in an experimental community on Mars in the year 2039, The Robot Wars series features 14-year-old virtual reality specialist Tyce Sanders and is a repackaged and updated version of Mars Diaries. For children ages 10 and up.
The Day the Martians Came (Chapter 17)
Frederick Pohl, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 1989, ISBN 0312917813
Henry Steegman is hardly “Mr. Personality” onboard the Mars-bound Algonquin 9. For better or worse, the name Steegman will be immortalized by a discovery that will transform millions of lives. For ages 12 and up.
The Green Book
Jill Patton Walsh, Square Fish, 2012, ISBN 0312641222
Pattie and her family are among the last refugees to flee a dying Earth in an old spaceship. And when the group finally lands on the distant planet that is to be their new home, it seems that the four-year journey has been a success. But as they begin to settle this shiny new world, they discover that the colony is in serious jeopardy. For children ages 8 and up.
The Martian Chronicles
Ray Bradbury, Doubleday, 2001, ISBN 096501746X
Bradbury’s Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor — of crystal pillars and fossil seas — where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. For ages 12 and up.
There’s Nothing to Do on Mars (Picture book)
Chris Gall, Hachette Book Group, 2008, ISBN 0316166847
When Davey Martin’s family moves to Mars, he discovers that there’s nothing to do — at least until he and his robot dog Polaris learn to seize the spirit of adventure. For children ages 5 and up.
The Worst-case Scenario Ultimate Adventure #2: Mars!
(You decide how to survive)
Hena Khan and David Borgenicht, Chronicle Books, 2011, ISBN 081187124X
Join the youngest crew of astronauts ever to make the trip to Mars! Faced with fearsome dangers and difficult decisions, your choices will determine your fate on the Red Planet. For children ages 9 and up.
You Are the First Kid on Mars
Patrick O’Brien, Putnam Juvenile, 2009, ISBN 0399246347
Using the most up-to-date designs and theories of what it will take to establish a base on Mars, the reader is off on an incredible journey, over 35 million miles to the Red Planet. For children ages 5 and up.
Note: Please see the module Resources List for more book suggestions.
