Rocket Town [Board book]

Bob Logan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2011 | Age Range: 1 - 5 years | Lexile Measure: 140L (What's this?)

The story follows an astronaut and his canine companion as they drive an old pickup through Rocket Town, passing all manner of space craft like a taxi rocket, a police rocket, a school bus rocket, and even a rocket that looks like a shark.

Each colorful spread is bursting with an eye-dazzling array of rockets from big to small, fast to slow, practical to extremely silly. Our intrepid astronaut and his dog then get into their favorite rocket (a pickup truck-shaped rocket of course!), and the final count down and blast off is sure to thrill young readers.

Praise for Sea of Bath:

"All the elements of a classic picture book, right down to its 'Can-we-read-it-again?' potential." -YABooksCentral.com

"Almost as good as a short animated feature."
-Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a blast for children ages 1 – 5... Simple text and retro-pop illustrations make the journey one kids (and parents) will want to take again and again." - Pasadena Star News (Pasadena Star News 20110208)

About the Author

Bob Logan lives in Thousand Oaks, CA with his wife, son, and two retired pugs. Bob likes to draw his pictures on a computer and is not one to turn down key lime pie, pleasant conversation, or a chance to play the Wii. Visit www.bobloganillustration.blogspot.com

Product Details

• Age Range: 1 - 5 years
  
• Board book: 24 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; Brdbk edition (April 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402241860
• ISBN-13: 978-1402241864
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.7 x 6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bold colors and amazing rockets make the perfect board book. June 30, 2011

By FIRR-Kids!

Format:Board book

This is an easy board book to like. It's bright and bold, plus sturdy to boot. Obviously, board books are aimed at the toddler set, and Bob Logan seems to know just what they like. Rockets! Even though the words are few, I think there's a really cute story being told here. The first page shows a man and his trusty dog walking from their country style farmhouse towards a vintage yellow truck. The scene seems quite pretty vintage until I mention he's wearing a space suit and there's a large sign points down the road, emblazoned with words Rocket Town 17 miles.

The whole town is a curious mix of yesteryear and the projected future. Big, old-fashioned streetlamps mark each corner, and striped awnings adorn the brick buildings. And a giant rocket swoops through, with passengers riding much like they would in a train. Black iron gates surround the park, but the playground equipment inside consists of dozens of rockets! The burger joint looks just as old timey, but the waitresses wear jet powered footwear instead of roller skates.

It's so much fun to see where old fashioned and the future intersect in Bob Logan's mind. The school bus is the same yellow, but hovers five feet in the air. A used rocket shop looks very much like today's used car lots. It is there the man and his dog find a yellow rocket nearly identical to his vintage truck, and they take a very different sort of ride.

I love the thought that went into this story. It's really neat to see an imaginative version of what the future will be like, incorporating many items which will probably be obsolete. I think it is not too often that you find a board book of this caliber. Very clever!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute, bright, and Great for young kids! April 29, 2011

By Cherise Kachelmuss TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Board book

This is an adorable board book. It is pretty big first off (about the size of a DVD case) which makes it easy for me to hold to read to my boys and for them to hold to look at themselves. Since it is a board book it is thick cardboard and therefore pretty durable. My boys and I love the illustrations as they are bright, funky and very kid-friendly. It contains a simple story about Rockets and each page has only a few words on it like "These rockets go up." and the next page will say "These rockets come down." The illustrations of course go along with the story and there are even numbers in the book for the blast off sequence which is great because my 4 year old is learning his numbers now. Whether you have a child who likes rockets or not, this is a really cute book and one I recommend! I would say it is a good book from about 1 years old through 5.

Mom and More Disclosure: I was sent this book to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rocket Town - In a book galaxy all its own May 20, 2011

By Brimful Curiosities

Format:Board book

Bob Logan welcomes readers to Rocket Town, an unusual community where most residents ride in rockets -- big rockets, small rockets, school bus rockets, ice-cream truck rockets, scooter rockets, and so on. It's a place where, "everyone has a favorite rocket." The area kids carry rocket-shaped balloons and go on rocket carnival rides. One man, dressed in an astronaut suit, seems a little out-of-place in Rocket Town. He drives an old, yellow pick-up truck through town, accompanied by his loyal Beagle dog. They wizz by all sorts of different rockets, finally arriving at "Rocket Ray's Rockets," a rocket sales lot. After a brief search, astronaut man finds a special rocket suited perfectly to his taste and blasts off into space.

Logan's board book belongs in a book galaxy all its own. With enthralling art and simple text it's very appealing to toddlers (especially rocket-crazed toddlers like my own), but due to the complexity of the illustrations and flashy rocket theme, older kids will find themselves drawn into the details. My daughter pointed out that all the baby strollers in the book are rockets, and she loves the "just married" rocket carriage that blows heart shaped exhaust. My son thinks the green "stinky onion" rocket is hilarious. The unique, digitally rendered illustrations are done in retro-pop style. The illustrations also look slightly futuristic with a rockets and space art theme (think Hanna Barbera's Jetsons crossed with the latest in animation technology). Logan primarily works as a story artist for DreamWorks and his animation talent is apparent in the pages of this book.

Now typically I'm not a huge fan of board books because most are versions of picture books formatted in a downsized design to fit babies and toddlers. However, Rocket Town was never released in picture book form and is specifically designed with the toddler/preschool audience in mind. Rocket Town is a counting book (it has an awesome countdown to blast off), and the book also teaches opposites by comparing various rocket sizes, speeds and travel directions. Measuring 9 in. wide x 6 in. high, it's a medium-sized board book designed with larger page spreads to properly showcase Logan's fantastic artwork. Part of me wishes that the book had a more elaborate storyline presented in a picture book format -- the Rocket Town idea is so fascinating! But sometimes simpler is better, and toddlers/preschoolers certainly deserve original, high quality stories of their own.
* Review copy provided by publisher