Science Comics: Rockets by Anne and Jerzy Drozd - ADVISABLE

Science Comics: Rockets by Anne Drozd and Jerzy Drozd, 119 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL/NON-FICTION. First Second, 2018. $20. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE.

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Packed with a lot of information about the history and use of rockets, this graphic novel is divided into very helpful chapters given the breadth of the subject.  Each chapter takes a  different element of rocketry: mechanics, entertainment, war, the space race, etc. and is narrated by an animal that was in some way involved in that period of history.  A pigeon, a duck, a bear, and some dogs each take turns explaining rocketry and being silly together.

This would be an amazing text book for a physics or even history classroom, but the entertainment value is pretty low.  There are a lot of complicated concepts explained in this book, slowing the pace and ease of reading way down. I liked the animal characters and was fascinated with the information, but it will take a particularly interested reader or a classroom experience to make this book useful. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher