CATS. IN. SPACE.

I hope that no one is tired of reading about my jaunts through middle grade graphic novels because today I'm going to review CatStronauts: Space Station Situation & CatStronauts: Robot Rescue by Drew Brockington. (And in a few weeks I'm going to be doing a sizable masterpost on several other graphic novels so stay tuned for that!) I started with book 3 of the CatStronauts series titled Space Station Situation which follows a team of cats in space. CATS. IN. SPACE. Is it any wonder that I started this series?! Picture a world where the entire population is made up of cats EVEN THE PRESIDENT (who is only concerned with his reelection I might add). In this installment, a meteor is headed toward earth and in order to track its progress and hopefully stop it our intrepid heroes must fix the Hubba Bubba Telescope. However, one of their crewmates has abandoned his post after a traumatizing solo flight around the earth in a spacesuit and the mission is sure to fail without him. (His name is Waffles by the way because of course all of the cats have names much like the cats we are familiar with in this reality.) The book is rife with funny puns and asides as well as excellent illustrations. I wouldn't class this as the best graphic novel I've ever read but I liked it well enough to give another book in the series a shot.

Sourec: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

I think this is from an earlier book in the series but I don't care cause LOOK. [Source: nerdophiles]

And so I picked up Robot Rescue which is the 4th book in the series and revolves around a secret mission to rescue their friend Cat-Stro-Bot after he is stranded on a planet during a mission that went horribly awry. As they are not authorized to actually be on this mission, they have to leave replacements back on earth to fool their superiors into thinking they never left...and what better solution than building lookalike robots?! For the kids (or adults with childlike wonder) that like quick, funny graphic novels and/or cats and space this is the perfect series. For myself, this is the best "book filler" I've come across in ages to help to combat my book fatigue.

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World by Jennifer Palmieri

What I'm Currently Reading: Star Trek Destiny #1: Gods of Night by David Mack

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Rocket Mouse

Every year at the New York Public Library a list of the Best Books for Kids is crafted. I had a peek at this year's list and grabbed a few to read and review for the blog. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of picture books in the coming weeks. :-)

When I saw the illustration style of Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon by Torben Kuhlmann I knew that I had to get that book into my hands. By the time I got through the first couple of pages I was looking up the other books by him and requesting them to be sent my way. I understand that each person has a different idea of what is aesthetically pleasing to them and that not every person will find particular styles of illustration appealing. With that being said, I cannot see how someone could read anything by Kuhlmann and not instantly fall in love with his artistic technique and his unique storytelling style. His fascination with the way machines work and how industrialization has changed the course of history has led him to create fictional stories about real advances in technology using animals such as mice and moles. There's certainly an element of anthropomorphism being used here but the animals also exhibit those traits specific to them (the mice meet at a cheese shop for example). This is another author/illustrator whose work is so gorgeous that I want to hang it on my walls. This story specifically deals with a mouse who is mesmerized by the moon. He dreams of traveling there so that he can prove to the other mice that it is not made of cheese. There are obstacles to overcome not least of which is that it's dangerous to be a mice who wants to break the mold (and build a rocket that can actually get him into space). It's a story of perseverance, determination, and rocketry. I highly recommend this to little ones who are curious about how things work and that dream of one day being astronauts...or to people who just really love mice. 10/10

Source: Torben Kuhlmann's Book Trailer

I can't handle the cuteness! (source is same as above)

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books. Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **