CatStronauts

Earth is running perilously low on energy, so the world's best scientist proposes a daring solution: a solar power plant on the moon! But who has the moxie to pull off such a scheme? Blanket, Pom Pom, Waffles, and Major Meowser the CatStronauts, of course. Brockington's off-the-wall kitty sci-fi series packs the full-color panels with cute cats, space travel, and comical high jinks. The feline universe is peppered with jokes, from the name of the CatStronauts' space agency to Waffles' obsession with tuna, and the simplified, rounded shapes of the cats and open panel layouts add to the cartoonish appeal. Tension arises when the CatStronauts encounter some trouble en route to the moon, but with their combined skills (and the help of Blanket's top-secret project), they return to Earth victorious. A second installment, in which the CatStronauts compete with other cat space agencies to reach Mars, will be released simultaneously. Cats and space are perennial favorites, and the combination here is sure to elicit lots of giggles among middle-grade comics fans.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist

Gr 2-5-Major Meowser leads a ragtag crew of feline astronauts (the "CatStronauts") whose goal is to save the planet and earn the coveted position of world's most advanced space program. In Mission Moon, the president of the United States asks the "World's Best Scientist" for help after learning that Earth is experiencing a global energy crisis and is about to go dark for good. After formulating a scheme to cover the moon in solar panels to harvest energy for Earth, the president and the scientist call on the CatStronauts to bring the plan to fruition. In Race to Mars, four competing space initiatives, including the CatStronauts's C.A.T.S.U.P. program, race to make history as the first cats to set paw on Mars. But problems arise when the rushed pace results in unnecessary errors, forcing the felines to act quickly and avoid catastrophe. Despite the weighty nods to historical events (the Cold War space race), potential future manned space missions, and global energy concerns, both volumes manage to remain consistently cheery and humorous. The jokes, which are mostly cat puns or based on cat behaviors, are occasionally repetitive and predictable. However, the inclusion of a female CatStronaut, the engagingly lighthearted drama and positive resolutions, and the expressive characters, who are as adorable as they are adventurous, provide enough variation to more than make up for it. Soft retro pastels, reminiscent of the art of the 1950s, nicely complement the sometimes cluttered, sometimes airy panels and mostly steady line work. VERDICT Fun purchases that will do well on their own or paired with heavier nonfiction titles on history or the environment.-Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.