Nova's Ark [Hardcover]

David Kirk (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999 | Age Level: 4 and up

Nova, a robot boy from the planet Roton, accidentally rockets himself into space during a class field trip and eventually stumbles across the energy source his planet needs for survival.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"In his tiny bedroom, high above the city, Nova leaned over his workbench--wrapping, twisting, cutting, clipping. The evening sun glinted off his steel brow, then sank behind the crystal spires of Roton, making them glisten like rubies."

So begins David Kirk's futuristic picture book Nova's Ark, the somewhat complex story of a young robot named Nova, whose most precious possession (besides his robot dog "Sparky") is a brittle wooden ark and a set of carved animals made by humans in the ancient days of Roton. Nova misses his dad, who left on a space mission nearly a year ago. He dreams (when plugging himself into the dream console) of flying to the stars with his adventurous father. Exploration, it seems, is "in his wiring."

On a school field trip to the Space Center, Nova's world turns upside down. At the pilot's console of the Glax Cruiser, he can't help himself--he pulls the lever and the spaceship roars to life! Before he knows it he is lost and alone in outer space. Weeks pass. Months! One day, in his search for his home planet, he crashes into a mountain on a barren moon and his ship is destroyed: "There were no signs of robot life. How would he ever get home? Who would take care of his mother? Who would take care of Sparky?" He wondered if this was how his father felt on his lone travels. The next morning he awakes to a cheerful new sun and decides to concoct Sparky number 2 out of the wreckage of his crashed spaceship. He doesn't stop there! He builds a whole menagerie of animals... and last but not least "an elephant ark, whose mighty trunk bellowed a message deep into the heavens: 'HELP!'"

His distant father evidently hears the call, but crashes in his attempt to find his son, and is seriously injured. Each of Nova's robot animals gives something of itself to revive him... and Nova donates a valve from his own heart. It works! Of course, his dad has kangaroo feet... but he is alive! After many mechanical shenanigans--and a wonderful discovery of crystal energy that means salvation for their planet--they fly home to Roton and are greeted as heroes. Kirk, beloved creator of the Miss Spider books, has produced a masterpiece of 3-D computer imaging so vivid it recalls the set of Toy Story, but the plot twists and turns and dense narrative will demand quite a bit more concentration. (Ages 6 and older; perhaps best for reading aloud) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

In this bittersweet tale of sentient robots, Kirk replaces the lush organic scenery of his Miss Spider series with richly colorful industrial shapes. Nova, a square-headed, swivel-jointed droid, owns the title relic: a fanciful wooden ark containing a set of miniature animals. "A ship like this would never fly, he thought, but in those distant times men traveled this planet on seas of water?a liquid that had vanished from Roton long ago." While Nova plays with the ark, he wonders how his star-pilot dad is doing on a mission to find needed fuel for planet Roton. Nova's curiosity about his father leads him on an interstellar mission, during which his skills as an inventor (he creates robotic versions of the animals of the ark and converts one of them to a spaceship) help him and his planet survive. Kirk's sharp-contrast images of spacecraft and rocky surfaces glow with Martian red light and lime-green accents, and appear remarkably three-dimensional. The orbiting ship seems to fly out of the book and into readers' space. Nova's animal friends (among them a metallic Miss Spider) help lift the gloomy mood, as do the hero's charming customs of drinking and bathing in motor oil. Yet the dense, unrhymed prose and stark high-tech imagery can't simulate cheer; Nova's universe is impersonal and bleak. Kirk's melancholy tale imparts a mournful message of a bygone Earth, despite a happy ending for the amiable automatons. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590282085
• ISBN-13: 978-0590282086
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Kirk grew up in Ohio, USA, where he learned about insects and painting. He has been making toys and artwork for children for fifteen years and lives with his daughter, Violet, in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to keep your hands off, May 22, 2000

By 

Nancy R. Woodington - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nova's Ark (Hardcover)

What a gorgeous book! It demands that you reach out and touch it, turn the pages, and look, over and over again. Each page has so much visual material that it will take a long time before this book becomes too familiar. You're not necessarily going to catch the diaper on the baby robot the first or second time through, but these touches make it wonderful for children whether they can read or not. In fact, the main problem in reading it aloud is getting them to let you turn the page. I would recommend this book for any child. Two minor caveats: The story is not up to the illustrations, but very few stories could be, and it's enough to give the illustrations meaning; and one page has white text superimposed on a full-page illustration, which makes for hard reading, especially in less than perfect light.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars eye candy, November 18, 2000

By 

Lee Billings (Cordova, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nova's Ark (Hardcover)

I rarely splurge on a hardcover book, these days, as my youngest reader is 8 years old. I purchased this book, however, because my daughter and I have enjoyed Miss Spider's Tea Party so much over the years. I read Nova's Ark to her third grade all-girl's class today, and it received an "A" ! The girls loved the pictures, and had questions about how the illustrations were done. They loved the plot, and at several points were able to make predictions at every surprising twist and turn. They asked me to leave the book in their classroom so they could re-read it and look over the colorful and whimsical illustrations. While we all missed the clever rhymes of Miss Spider fame, we enjoyed the language and style of Nova. We tried several robot voices as we read out loud. Also, the girls enjoyed seeing all of the clever animals Nova makes while on the planet Zyke. My daughter enjoyed the book out loud more than she has enjoyed perusing it on her own. A great picture book, and worth the investment because it's got eye candy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated, February 12, 2010

By 

ScrawnyPunk (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nova's Ark: David Kirk's Nova the Robot (Mass Market Paperback)

Beautifully illustrated, but the story line is slightly complex for younger readers/listeners. The title character is a bit of a dreamer. His natural curiosity sets him on a solitary adventure which is richly rewarding, inasmuch as he gets his traveling dad to stay home and supplies his planet with fuel for all time. The pictures are every bit as lush and organic as the Miss Spider series, even though all the characters are metallic. My sons love to LOOK at this book and often make their own story line. That's fine by me - its hard to explain resource scarcity and personal sacrifice to a 4-year-old.