This book is going to be on the required reading list for my Children's Lit class in the fall. I can't wait for the future teachers in the class to read it and get excited about sharing it in their future classrooms.
Resilience "Res" is a Mars rover. At the beginning of his story he is in the NASA lab. Scientists are still building him and tweaking his systems. He has formed a bond with two of the scientists, Xander and Rania. Although the other rover named Journey, in a neighboring lab, doesn't approve of Res connecting with the humans, Res doesn't care. Imagining he feels human emotions makes him feel special.
Readers will follow Res on his path from creation to launch and eventual arrival on Mars. The exploration of the planet involves complicated communication between Res, a satellite named Guardian, and a drone named Fly. As a team they spend years on Mars filming, making recordings, and drilling for rock samples. They even try to revive an old rover that went offline on a previous mission.
Scattered throughout Res's story are letters written by the daughter of Rania. She was assigned to write a letter to Res when she was twelve and continued to write to him long after. Since her mother is one of the NASA scientists working on Res and following his work on Mars, she feels connected in a special way.
If you don't think you can become connected emotionally to a robot exploring a planet far, far away, you find out it is totally possible if you read A ROVER'S STORY. Author Jasmine Warga explains the combination of fact and fiction she called on to create Res and his story. This is a wonderful read for middle grade and up.
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