kiddital

Zoom Zoom to Saturn

Ivy Chen

Zoom Zoom to Saturn

by Ivy Chen

Ages 6–8 4.7SpaceFriendshipScience

Three friends build a rocket from a cardboard box and race a comet to the ringed planet.

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Age
Ages 6–8
Pages
48

Flip through the book

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Zoom Zoom to Saturn

Ivy Chen

Once upon a time…

Ada, Kofi and Lin built a rocket from the biggest cardboard box in the whole neighborhood. It took them three rainy afternoons, two rolls of tape and a great deal of glitter. They painted a round window, drew a hundred blinking buttons, and wrote the name on the side in giant silver letters: ZOOM ZOOM. It was the finest rocket that anyone had ever seen.

Page 1

"Countdown!" said Kofi, holding up his pointer finger like a real mission commander. It started at ten. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero! Nobody knew what came after zero, so they held hands and squeezed their eyes shut. Then the floor began to shake, and the whole box began to rise.

Page 2

Zoom! Up they went, past the treetops and the clouds and the sleepy airplanes. Zoom! Past the moon, which waved with a big, friendly crater smile. Zoom! Past Mars, which was a little dusty and very shy, and hid its face behind a red cloud when the children waved. The stars twinkled like sparklers all around.

Page 3

Suddenly a comet raced up beside them, its long tail smelling of cinnamon and sparkling like fireworks. It zigzagged around the rocket, fizzing and popping. "Race you to Saturn!" it cried. Ada grinned at Kofi, and Kofi grinned at Lin, and all three of them shouted at the same time, "You're on!" And off they zoomed.

Page 4

…and then?

Read on

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Story mood

Is it a wind-down book, or a wake-up book?

  • SleepyWide awake
  • SillyGiggle fits
  • BraveBig courage
  • CuriousFull of wonder

Meet the characters

Tap a card to learn a secret.

AdaChief bolt-tightener
Did you know?She keeps a spare screw in every pocket, just in case a planet needs fixing.
KofiHead of countdowns and cheering
Did you know?He can count backwards from a hundred in four languages.

Talk about it together

Conversation starters for after the last page.

1Tap to reveal
What would you pack in a cardboard rocket?
2Tap to reveal
How did the three friends fix the wobble together?
3Tap to reveal
Which planet would you visit first, and why?

Try this at home

Cardboard rocket

Find a big box, cut a round window, and decorate it with foil and stickers. Count down from ten and blast off from the living room.

What your child will take away

  • ✓Teamwork and problem solving
  • ✓Planets and the solar system
  • ✓Being brave together

About the author

Ivy Chen

Builds rockets out of cardboard with her two kids, then writes down where they went.

More by Ivy Chen →

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