I’ve been thinking of doing a Brainstorm on books set on Mars (both nonfiction and fiction) for a while. I didn’t want to do it too close to the Lunar Brainstorm, so I’ve been putting it off, and then this week I finished Lion of Mars and heard that Perseverance had landed on Mars so I felt like it was time. If you have Mars on the mind, what better time to visit the red planet through the covers of some books?!
Arabella of Mars series by David D. Levine
After one scrape too many, Arabella is whisked away from the Mars she knows and loves by her mother to be "civilized" in England. Arabella is heartbroken, even more so when an express from Mars informs them that her father unexpectedly has died. Arabella adored her father, it is from him that she's inherited a deep fascination with the workings of automatons. When Arabella finds out that a bitter impoverished cousin has decided that now would be the perfect time to get himself a part of the inheritance and has set off for Mars with ill intent towards her brother, she must scramble to beat him to Mars somehow. Through a series of events, Arabella finds herself bound for Mars, disguised as a boy, hired by Captain Singh of the Mars Company aboard the ship Diana to be the captain's boy. Can Arabella quickly learn the ropes of interplanetary sailing, keep her true identity a secret, avoid catastrophe on the journey, and make it to Mars in time to save her brother? The series continues in two more books featuring the tech savvy third culture kid (really young woman), Arabella, with France and England racing to gain control of Mars while the Martians themselves may have something to say about the matter, and Arabella being one of the few Brits who really understands and respects the Martians.
Target Readers:
Reimagined History Fans, Steampunk Fans, Scifi Fans, Third Culture Kid Character Fans, Multicultural Cast Fans, Space Adventure Fans, Sailing Fans, Young Adult/Adult Readers
Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
Durango gets stuck taking an assignment to protect a bunch of miners from the Draeu (canibals) on an outpost in nowhere-land on Mars. His crew of soldiers is smaller than he'd like, and a bit more pitiful than he'd like (except for his second, Vienne, who is practically an army all on her own). Their assignment becomes even less appealing when they start to learn more things about the Draeu and the miners, in fact, it starts to look like a suicide mission. But Durango doesn't give up so easy. And he's got his own secrets.
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Western Fans, Space Cowboy Story Fans, Dystopia Fans, Young Adult Readers
Curiosity: the Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum
Curiosity, the Mars Rover, tells us about how she was made and her mission to Mars.
Target Readers:
Robot Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Science Nerds, Cute Art Fans, Middle Grade Readers
A Frenchman on Mars (Castle in the Stars, #4) by Alex Alice, translated by Anne & Owen Smith
Seraphin, Sophie, Hans, and the villains who have commandeered their ship have arrived at Mars. They are looking for any signs of the King or the past expeditions and stumble into Martian political unrest. Can Seraphin and gang wrestle back control of the ship from Gudden while they are on Martian soil, or is he just going to get them in a worse mess? (Obviously, this is solidly into a series, and if you haven't read 1-3 you will be quite lost.)
Target Readers:
Graphic Novel Fans, Art Lovers, Scifi Fans, Steampunk Fans, Reimagined History Fans, Fans of Books in Translation, Middle Grade Readers
In the Red by Christopher Swiedler
Michael wants to prove to himself and his family that his "condition" will not keep him from doing fun things in the field on Mars. After his first plan backfires, his best friend Lilith decides that what he needs is a little night time sneaky trip outside the dome. Michael goes along with the plan, but while they are out something goes catastrophically wrong and soon the two tweens find themselves in a struggle to survive and save others.
Target Readers:
Survival Story Fans, Scifi Fans, Thriller Fans, Mental Health Story Fans, Adventure Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Last Day on Mars (Chronicles of the Dark Star, #1) by Kevin Emerson
Liam feels like he's the only one sad to say goodbye to Mars. The adults all view Mars as just a layover on their escape from the Earth, or more exactly, the Sun as it is on its way to going supernova. Their end goal is a new home in a planet called Aaru in another solar system. Today is the day the last people will board the starship for their long journey there. The only one who seems to understand Liam is his friend Phoebe, another of the kids who was born on Mars. As they prepare to leave the only home they've ever known, Liam and Phoebe are stuck on the last transport up to the starship because their parents are scientists finishing up the terraforming project for Aaru. But as the solar storms get worse and the time for the starship to depart draws near, things start to go horribly wrong, they stumble across some big secrets, and it is up to Liam and Phoebe to save the day. There are 2 more exciting and eventful books in this series.
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Survival Story Fans, Adventure Fans, Thriller Fans, Mystery Fans, Middle Grade Readers/YA Readers
Life on Mars by Jon Agee
An astronaut lands on Mars sure he is going to find life. But he hunts and hunts, and begins to give up hope. Suddenly, though, he spots a flower. There is some life on Mars! But readers will observe some much bigger life forms that the astronaut totally missed.
Target Readers:
Situational Comedy Fans, Scifi Fans, Picture Book Readers
Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
Bell is the youngest kid being raised in the US Mars base. He loves his life there, but some changes are making things a little uncomfortable and causing Bell try to figure out how to navigate his feelings. When a really serious situation hits the base, Bell finds himself shouldering huge responsibility. Getting help totally depends on him. Can the littlest American do the seemingly impossible?
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Feel Good Story Fans, Light Mystery/Adventure Fans, Growing Up Story Fans, Dealing with Change Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Mars Challenge by Alison Wilgus, ill. by Wyeth Yates
Through the conversations of an eager teen who wants to go to Mars and an adult scientist, readers learn all the hurdles that need to be passed before humans are ready for a manned mission to Mars, from overcoming the headaches gravity poses to figuring out how to keep humans alive once they get there and everything in between.
Target Readers:
Science Nerds, Those Interested in Space Travel, Those Interested in Space Flight Engineering, Those Wondering Why We Aren’t on Mars Now, Graphic Novel Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Curious Readers, YA Readers
The Martian Chronicles: the Authorized Adaptation adapted by Dennis Calero, based on the book by & introduced by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury's classic tales of voyages to Mars from Earth that often result in tragedy adapted to graphic novel form.
Target Readers:
Scifi Classic Fans, Horror Fans, Cautionary Tale Fans, Graphic Novel Fans, YA/Adult Readers
The Mighty Mars Rovers: the Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field) by Elizabeth Rusch
Follows the Mars Rovers projects from the time Steven Squyres dreamed them up to their acceptance as a mission, then development, and then on Mars soil for several years (so 2000-2010). Illustrated by pictures taken by the rovers. Readers get a nice inside scoop on what it is like inside a NASA project, the kinds of things that people do who work with such projects, and how tricky it is to work with machinery over thousands of miles of space.
Target Readers:
Robot Fans, Science Nerds, Readers Who Like a Behind the Scenes Look, Nonfiction Fans, History of Mars Exploration Buffs, Middle Grade Readers/YA Readers
Race to Mars (CatStronauts, #2) by Drew Brockington
While the CatStronauts have been touring the world accepting awards for saving the Earth from the energy crisis, other countries have decided they want their part of space exploration to be remembered too. The CosmoCats have brought back their mission to Mars and are getting ready to launch any day. The MEOW (think Germany) and COOKIE (think Japan) programs are also almost ready to head to Mars. The CatStronauts can't be left behind! With a new, more efficient rocket they are soon on their way to space too. But when a horrible accident happens in space, can the cats from all the different countries put aside their own glory and past issues with each other to survive, or will they all perish in space because of selfishness?
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Graphic Novel Fans, Cat Lovers, Kindness Story Fans, Humor Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho, ill. by Katherine Roy
A very simple introduction to the Curiosity rover and Mars. This is Mars rover book with the simplest and shortest text, but it is still rich in details and features amazing illustrations. It has the best summary of Mars probes/rovers history up to 2018 of any book I've seen.
Target Readers:
Robot Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Mars Exploration History Buffs, Art Lovers, Little Science Nerds, Kids with Short Attention Spans, Picture Book Readers
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