Patrick O'Brien (1960–)

If Star Trek (the Original Series) and Buck Rogers had a Baby, and that Baby had a kid with the Old School Batman series, this would be it - but with Dinosaurs.

Hilarious and cheesy, with bold bright art and detailed illustrations, the reader follows the intrepid Captain Raptor and his crew to the stars. There, they face dangerous animals and intriguing mysteries.

Children will adore the fun adventures and catch-phrases tossing Dinos and parents might actually not hate reading this one more show more than a few times. As an adult (and sci-fi lover) I found this laugh-out-loud funny and will be purchasing the rest of the series. Onward to the Stars! show less

This terrific book, told in the second person, asks "Would you like to go to Mars?" Then it takes you, the reader, up a space elevator, to a space station, to a space ship, to another station, and down to a habitat on Mars' surface, where you see how scientists and engineers use robots to maintain their colony, explore the world, and search for microscopic life. By addressing his audience so directly, O'Brien effectively pulls the reader -- or kid listening to the story -- into this imagined show more future. O'Brien's 42 paintings are fully realized concepts of future technology and have a dimensional reality that adds to the immersive feel of the book. show less

I enjoyed this book, but it is definitely my least my favorite in the Captain Raptor series. It didn't have the humor or charm as the other two, and the art wasn't as colorful or crisp. It looked grainier. Perhaps the print quality has something to do with that? I couldn't say. At any rate, I'd still recommend it, but I'd suggest reading this one last!

This book is everything I needed as a kid. Not only does the author and illustrator (the same person!) use such vivid and realistic images, he also ensures that everything being depicted in the illustration is described well enough for even the youngest of children to easily understand. It is so important for young kids to be exposed to this sort of science fiction in a way that they can easily digest, because all the kids who find passions for science and mathematics and other STEM fields show more will be inspired to one day create the technologies depicted here. No age is too young to develop a love of science fiction. show less