Hello, friends! Today’s book is Life On Mars by Jon Agee, a charmingly funny story about a lonely astronaut searching for life on a distant planet.

An astronaut arrives in a spaceship with a box of cupcakes and a dream: to find life on Mars. He searches the barren planet for any sign of habitation, but he only sees rocks and dirt. Discouraged, he decides to set off toward home – but he finds he is lost! How will the astronaut get home? And where have the cupcakes gone? And what is that orange shadow that seems to be lurking around, just out of sight…? 

This was a very cute, very amusing story. The main joke is a visual one: as the astronaut wanders, a hulking gargantuan of an alien remains in full view of the reader, but just out of sight of the intrepid explorer. It makes for a great interactive element for little readers, who can point out the Martian and laugh at the astronaut’s folly. The illustrations are simple yet adorable, and fit the tone of the story perfectly. The length is just right, and JJ had a lot of fun with this one. A great pick to read aloud, and this one is definitely Baby Bookworm approved!