A child astronaut lands on Mars, so determined to find life there that he’s brought a gift of chocolate. He searches the entire lonely planet with no success, all the while unaware that a big red creature is following him, curious about the stranger. The boy finally finds a form of life—a yellow flower, left for him by the Martian in return for the box of candy—but never does see the quiet, friendly Martian. The Earthling leaves in his spaceship, taking the candy box with him, not realizing that it’s empty until he is well on his way back home. A wry, clever story with a very simple first-person text is sure to please young listeners, who will enjoy knowing more than the main character. (Ages 3-5)

In this sneaky, silly picture book for fans of Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen, an intrepid—but not so clever—space explorer is certain he’s found the only living thing on Mars
 
A young astronaut is absolutely sure there is life to be found on Mars. He sets off on a solitary mission, determined to prove the naysayers wrong. But when he arrives, equipped with a package of cupcakes as a gift, he sees nothing but a nearly barren planet. Finally, he spies a single flower and packs it away to take back to Earth as proof that there is indeed life on Mars. But as he settles in for the journey home, he cracks open his cupcakes—only to discover that someone has eaten them all!
 
Readers will love being in on the secret: Unbeknownst to the explorer, a Martian has been wandering through the illustrations the whole time—and he got himself a delicious snack along the way.