Vincent on Mars

Come along with young Vincent on an artistic journey of discovery to the Red Planet, where art and science meet at the frontiers of imagination!

Vincent on Mars combines art and planetary science to inspire awe, wonder, curiosity, and creativity in children and adults alike. Imagine if a young Vincent van Gogh dreamt of awakening on Mars. What strange new Martian landscapes would he paint with his captivating and unique artistic style? Through rhyming text and vibrant illustrations, Vincent on Mars takes us on a beautiful journey to explore and learn about an alien world—the mysterious, majestic Red Planet with its rusty sands and skies, lower gravity than Earth, blue sunsets, two tiny natural satellites, a longer day called a “sol”, no liquid surface water, and a distant past wetter, warmer, and possibly full of life awaiting our discovery. Vincent on Mars shows us that creativity and science are intertwined, and through art, we can better observe, investigate, and appreciate the universe around us.

Vincent on Mars arises from my own interdisciplinary background in humanities, science, media, and technology. After a decades long career as a visionary researcher, inventor, and applied futurist, I have infused my childhood love of space, poetry, and art into this book, aiming to inspire the artists, dreamers, and explorers of tomorrow.

The paintings in this children’s picture book are unlike anything you may have ever seen. It is as if the artist Vincent van Gogh really painted the amazing landscapes of Mars. I encourage you to experience both the Kindle Edition and the Paperback Edition of Vincent on Mars. The Kindle Edition is distinguished by featuring the full, wide-format paintings that are cropped in the square Paperback Edition. The Kindle Edition of Vincent on Mars is not a reproduction of the Paperback Edition: the panoramic paintings in the Kindle Edition have 75% more image content to immerse yourself in. The large, square Paperback Edition is a wonder to hold and read, and printed in gorgeous, vivid Amazon Premium Color. Enjoying both the Kindle Edition and the Paperback Edition of Vincent on Mars is a delight not to be missed!

The prestigious Kirkus Reviews lauds Vincent on Mars with these words: 

"Davis' full-color, painterly illustrations are truly stunning (reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh's work, of course), with swirling skies and softly hemispherical detail; visible brush strokes add dimension and nuance. The rhyming verse has a dreamlike quality ("the sky looked rusty, / but very profound") and appears on every second page, so the text doesn't interrupt the images. The book includes educational details about the red planet, including the size of its two moons.

Art meets astronomy in this visually dazzling book."

Kirkus Reviews also bestowed on Vincent on Mars the Award & Accolade of recommending that you GET IT.

For the complete review of Vincent on Mars by Kirkus Reviews, click here.

Future books in the Artists on Planets series will feature other painters, such as J. M. W. Turner, to reveal more of the sublime sights and fascinating science of Mars and other worlds.

The Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary serves as a companion volume to Vincent on Mars to further deepen the learning and engagement of young readers in their exploration of Mars through art and science.

New words create new worlds in this essential companion to the visionary children’s picture book Vincent on Mars.

I encourage readers of all ages to always read with a dictionary by their side, and an illustrated glossary is even better for younger readers! Through wondrous words and pictures, the Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary offers definitions, word origins, example sentences, and full-color photographs to help younger readers learn about the language, science, and art of Vincent on Mars.

The Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary features meticulously crafted entries designed for younger readers, each beginning with a word or phrase from Vincent on Mars. Each entry provides not just a definition, but also a window into the world of words. From parts of speech to fascinating etymologies, the glossary enriches younger readers’ understanding of the ancient roots of the words we use today. Each glossary entry also includes an example sentence aiding in contextual learning.
 

This book is not just a delight of words, but also takes younger readers on an amazing visual journey across the Martian landscape and beyond. Some of the evocative images include:

Martian Marvels:

Through amazing color photographs taken by various robotic Mars missions, experience the enchanting, icy blue skies of Mars at dawn over Jezero Crater, the expansive rim of Gale Crater, and the rugged face of Burns Cliff in Endurance Crater. Survey a vast dry riverbed in Reull Vallis and the extensive networks of ancient river valleys in Mars’s southern highlands. Explore the quirky features of Mars’s moons, Phobos and Deimos. At the end of a sol, witness the tranquility of a serene blue sunset over Gale Crater.

Earthly Analogues:

Photographs of earthly landscapes provide a terrestrial connection to the Martian vistas painted in Vincent on Mars. Explore the arid expanse of Wadi Rum in the Arabian Desert, the red sands and stones of the Tadrart Rouge in the Sahara Desert, the carved curves of Antelope Canyon in Arizona, the desolate beauty of Death Valley in California, and the dusty plains of the Atacama Plateau in Argentina.

Ancient Mars Imagined:

Through visualizations based on data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, young readers can envision an ancient Mars with a vast ocean and abundant plant life. Photographs of terrestrial algae, sea grasses, and various plant species further invite readers to imagine a Mars teeming with life. A photograph of a fossil of an ancient flower helps readers see what real fossilized plants look like on Earth and might look like on Mars.

I encourage you to experience both the Paperback Edition and the Kindle Edition of the Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary for a complete learning experience. The large format, square Paperback Edition is a delight to hold and read, and printed in gorgeous, vivid Amazon Premium Color. The Kindle Edition features extensive hyperlinks to Simple Wiktionary (a free, online dictionary in Simple English) and to Simple Wikipedia (a free, online encyclopedia in Simple English), so younger readers can learn even more about this book’s fascinating words and images.
 

This book is a companion volume to Vincent on Mars. The Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary not only complements the reading experience of Vincent on Mars, but also serves as a valuable reference book on its own. It is a vital, verbal and visual resource in any home or classroom library, designed to deepen younger readers’ understanding of the vocabulary in Vincent on Mars, and to power their exploration of the extraordinary world of Mars, the wonders of our home planet, and beyond.

Experience Mars as never before…through the eyes of a young Vincent van Gogh!

Join Vincent on an extraordinary journey across the Red Planet, where art and science meet to spark curiosity and creativity in readers of all ages. In Vincent on Mars, explore rusty deserts, blue sunsets, the moons of Mars, ancient Mars with water and life, and more through stunning paintings in the style of Vincent van Gogh and delightful verses that captivate both children and adults.

This new special Kindle Edition also includes the Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary, a valuable companion to enrich your journey. Each of the 39 entries in the Illustrated Glossary provides definitions, word origins, vivid photographs and illustrations, and example sentences, making new words from Vincent on Mars even more accessible and engaging.

Why Choose This New Special Kindle Edition?

• Enhanced Visuals: Panoramic, wide-format paintings and illustrations in Vincent on Mars + Illustrated Glossary with 75% more image content than the Paperback Editions of Vincent on Mars and the Vincent on Mars: Illustrated Glossary.
• Exclusive Content: Four new Illustrated Glossary entries (artists, authors, dreamers, and explorers) with links to 36 fascinating people.
• Interactive Learning: Color-coded words in Vincent on Mars indicate glossary-defined terms and an all new “Questions for Readers” section offers a discussion question for each page of Vincent on Mars.
• Lower Cost: Enjoy cost savings compared to buying both Kindle eBooks separately.

Kirkus Reviews says of the original Vincent on Mars: “Art meets astronomy in this visually dazzling book” and “Davis’ full-color, painterly illustrations are truly stunning”—and gives it the prestigious Award & Accolade of GET IT.

The Kindle Edition of Vincent on Mars + Illustrated Glossary is made for color devices, so enjoy it on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone with a color screen using the Kindle app.

Order your new special Kindle Edition of Vincent on Mars + Illustrated Glossary today and embark on an amazing adventure of discovery, creativity, and imagination!