Rocketmole; Matt Carr

Rocketmole was released in 2019 to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the moon landing. Meet Armstrong, otherwise known as Rocketmole.…one small mole with some very big dreams. Can one small mole convince his friends that adventure is worth the risk…

Armstrong doesn’t belong underground. Unlike his fellow mole companions who are happy and safe in the dark and the damp, Rocketmole is tired of the boring life where nothing happens. Armstrong’s friends think that going to the moon is a very bad idea but Armstrong is determined that this mole is set for things that are out of this world. Will it be one small step for man, one giant leap for mole-kind? And is adventuring alone better than staying with ‘boring’ friends…

Rocketmole is a delightful read with bold illustrations. There are plenty of puns which young readers may not get at first but adults will have good fun in reading and explaining them. Whilst Armstrong achieves his dream of flying to the moon he also learns some valuable lessons. Whilst there, he contemplates his achievement and he begins to miss home and his mole friends. There are positive messages in resilience, risk-taking, problem solving, friendship and bravery.

Woven into the narrative are lessons in gravity, the planets, constellations, and there’s even a bit of geography in a great double page spread at the back that shows all the places that Rocketmole and his friends visit. And if all that wasn’t enough, readers will be inspired to want to know more about moles and the moon after reading the “Magnificent Moon Facts” and “Marvellous Mole Facts" at the end of the story.

An enjoyable read that young readers will enjoy reading time and time again.

Recommended for 4+.