Orion Lost

Thirteen-year-old, Beth McKay, is with her parents on the colony ship, ‘Orion’, setting off to start a new life millions of miles from Earth on Eos Five. Facing the potential dangers of Scrapers (space pirates) and the Videshi (an alien species), life on the Orion is very different, but Beth soon settles into a pattern of school work, Command Training and making Jumps where the ship covers great distances whilst its crew Sleeps to keep them safe, all constantly monitored by the ever-present Ship, an artificial intelligence. Then an Event occurs and Beth and her friends are the only ones awake on the Orion with Beth being given the role of Captain. Their ship is badly damaged and the children have to navigate encounters with both Scrapers and the Videshi, all made worse by tensions within the group and the feeling that Ship might not be telling them the truth…

This was a one sitting read; I could not put it down! My first book of 2020 and so enjoyable. From the beginning, each piece of the puzzle is being laid and the story is fast paced and thrilling. All the clues are there, but there are twists along the way to keep the reader guessing. Is Ship lying? Or is there a greater threat Beth and the others should be watching out for?

Beth is a great character; feisty and full of spark, she is also lacking in confidence, making her an interesting leader. When things come out in the open and the reader learns more about what has happened, you can really appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each character- but I can’t say more without spoiling it for anyone who has not read it yet!

The Videshi story line is also an interesting one (again, I don’t want to say too much!), offering food for thought about how humans treat the world- or in this case, space- around them.

A fabulous read- with plenty of potential for more adventures from this crew- ‘Orion Lost’ is an unputdownable space adventure!

Orion Lost

Alastair Chisholm

Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1788005920

Molly’s Moon Mission

Molly is a small moth with big ambitions. Her dream is to go to the moon and she puts in lots of hard work and training to accomplish her moon mission. However, Molly has a few false starts as she mistakes first a bulb, then a street lamp and finally a lighthouse for the light of the moon. At this point, her steely determination waivers slightly before a wise old crab offers some words of encouragement and with renewed confidence, she achieves her goal and makes a giant leap for moth-kind!

Full of Duncan’s charming illustrations, ‘Molly’s Moon Mission’ is a wonderful story about holding on to your dreams and never giving up. Molly’s determination is an example to us all, but the story also makes it clear that fulfilling dreams does not come easy- it requires perseverance and dedication as well. And having successfully achieved her goal, Molly is keen to encourage others to follow in her footsteps. She’s quite a moth!

There is so much that could be done with this story in class or at a book group session. Molly lends herself to becoming a lovely little stick puppet which could easily be made and used to retell the story. Children could find out about moths and create Molly-shaped books to record their facts in. They could paint night sky pictures and add a Molly to the scene. Stories about Molly’s siblings and the adventures that she has inspired them to go on would be great fun to write and could form a collection of stories for the library. The language Duncan uses to tell the story is rich and varied, making it a great one to use for developing vocabulary and exploring words as well as using for some fun SPaG activities. I can’t help planning a Moths and Moonbeams (Snakes and Ladders) type of game to develop sentence work!

A wonderfully positive and encouraging story, ‘Molly’s Moon Mission’ is a real treasure. We are looking forward to hearing more about this inspiring moth when Duncan visits us next week as part of our World Book Day celebrations!

Molly’s Moon Mission Duncan Beedie

Templar ISBN: 978-1787413405

Rocket Mole

Armstrong the star-nosed mole is fed up of living underground. When he decides to go to the moon, his friends, although puzzled, are impressed by his actions as he builds a rocket and launches off into space. However, Armstrong quickly realises that there is much about the life he has left behind which he misses. When he returns, can he find a way to combine his desire for adventure and exploration with the companionship of his friends?

Perfectly timed for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, ‘Rocketmole’ is a wonderful story about dreaming big, pursuing ambitions and appreciating friendship! As usual with Matt’s books, there are plenty of jokes to be found in the story- both in the text and in the illustrations. Some of these are perfect for little ones and some offering the more mature amongst us a smile (gravi-tea, for example) and the chance to share the joke. Matt’s illustrative style is as appealing as ever with bold, block colours and his cartoon-style layouts full of details to enjoy.

With its powerful message about following your dreams and achieving your goals, ‘Rocketmole’ is also a story about friendship and valuing what you have. Only when on the moon, gazing back at the world he has left does Armstrong realise what he has left behind.

This is such a lovely story, full of potential for using with a class in many ways, starting with as an introduction to the first moon landing. Fact files about the moon and star-nosed moles at the end of the book also offer a starting point for further investigation and I would love to see children experimenting with different rockets to send Armstrong of to space in. I think that’s my next book group activity planned!

ROCKETMOLE Matt Carr

Scholastic ISBN: 978-1407187860