Project Blastoff

A team of middle schoolers prepares for blastoff in this adventure from the author of theNew York Times bestselling Mousetronaut, based on the childhoods of real-life astronauts Mark Kelly and his twin brother Scott.

It's a long, hot summer and Scott and Mark are in big trouble for taking apart (aka destroying) their dad's calculator. As a punishment, they're sent to their grandfather's house, where there's no TV and they have to do chores. And Grandpa is less tolerant of the twins' constant bickering. “Why don't you two work together on something constructive. What if you built a go-kart or something?” Grandpa suggests.

But it's not a go-kart the twins are interested in. They want to build a rocket. With the help of Jenny, nicknamed Egg, and a crew of can-do kids, they set out to build a real rocket that will blast off and orbit the Earth. The question soon becomes: which twin will get to be the astronaut?

Written by a NASA astronaut with four space flights under his belt, this exciting story includes extensive back matter on the space program with fantastic facts and details.

Mark Kelly is a retired astronaut and US Navy Captain. His picture book Mousetronaut, illustrated by C.F. Payne was a #1 New York Times bestseller. He flew his first of four missions in 2001 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the same space shuttle that he commanded on its final flight in May 2011.

Martha Freeman wrote her first story when she was four years old. The illustration shows a house, because a house was the one thing she knew how to draw, and two nose-less girls. Over one girl is a speech bubble that says: “A home.” Over the other is another speech bubble: “Our home.” After that, Martha Freeman grew up, traveled around the world, worked as a reporter and a teacher, and wrote twenty-seven books for young readers, including?The Year My Parents Ruined My Life,?Fourth-Grade Weirdo, The Secret Cookie Club books,?Who Stole Halloween?, and?Effie Starr Zook Has One More Question. Home remains a theme in many of Martha’s books, but none is as pithy as that early effort. “Home” for Martha is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mike Yamada?is a concept designer, illustrator, and design consultant based in Pasadena, California. Mike has contributed to the development of many animated films, including Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda 2, How to Train Your Dragon, and Big Hero 6. Mike is the author and illustrator of Cool Cat Versus Top Dog, as well as the illustrator of Bedtime Blastoff and Kai to the Rescue. Learn more at MYamada.com.