My Rainy Day Rocket Ship

Rainy summer days are no match for a little astronaut who builds the perfect rocket ship for an indoor space adventure to another galaxy, where the sky is his only limit!

A stormy afternoon and an order from Mom to stay inside are no match for this little dreamer, who uses everyday household items—a rocket chair, a cardboard box, an old dish rag, and a super-duper imagination—to whip up a trip around the universe he won’t soon forget.

My Rainy Day Rocket Ship is a high-spirited, engaging salute to the imagination of Black boys who use their beautiful minds to transform the mundane into the extraordinary, dream out loud, and boldly go where their sky is the only limit.

Markette Sheppard is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and children’s book author. Her bestselling debut book, What Is Light?, inspired children to discover the light within through everyday surroundings. Markette is also founder of The GLOW Brands, LLC, a media company aimed at illuminating perspectives around the world. She earned a master of arts degree in interactive journalism from American University in Washington, DC, and a bachelor’s in communications and French from California State University Dominguez Hills. Markette lives in Maryland with her husband and son.

Charly Palmer, a graduate of the American Academy of Art, is a nationally recognized fine artist whose work is in private and public collections, including those of McDonald’s Corporation, the Coca-Cola Company, and Vanderbilt University. His illustrative work for Mama Africa! earned him the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator of the Year award. Palmer’s art is inspired by his children and grandchildren. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.