There's Nothing to Do on Mars

This charming picture book follows Davey Martin, a young boy who moves to Mars with his family and initially finds it incredibly boring. Encouraged by his parents, Davey and his robot dog, Polaris, set out to explore the red planet, transforming mundane observations into thrilling adventures. The story subtly teaches children about creativity, perseverance, and the joy of discovery, culminating in an exciting find. Featuring a retro-futuristic art style reminiscent of 1950s comic strips, the book is visually engaging and offers a fresh take on the classic childhood complaint, "There's nothing to do!" It's perfect for sparking imagination and conversation about exploration and making your own fun.

I've read There's Nothing to do on Mars several times to my youngest. I really like the way it's set out, with text next to large pictures reminiscent of 1950's style comic strips (Buck Rogers et al). It works well for him, and I think (in my fond imagination) it would also be interesting for my elder one, and would subtly impart information about Mars (Mars is red, it suffers from dust storms, has two moons, etc). The story is about a boy, Davey Martin, who moves to Mars with his parents. At first he's really bored, so his parents tell him to go out and play, and he ends up having all kinds of Martian adventures with his dog (which happens to be a robot). It's a futuristic story told with old fashioned images. I found the pictures very clever. There is one where he finds an 'old toy', but we can see the NASA logo on its side, and realise it's a Mars rover. Even the endpapers are (red) covered in drawings and information, purporting to be his diary. And I love the first illustration, which shows their camper van - with rocket blasters underneath, lifting off from Earth.