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CAPTAIN INVINCIBLE AND THE SPACE SHAPES

Name: CAPTAIN INVINCIBLE AND THE SPACE SHAPES
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
ISBN: 0-06-028022-0

by Stuart J. Murphy & illustrated by Rémy Simard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2001

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Captain Invincible is a sandy-haired boy astronaut, off on a space mission with his sandy-haired space-dog, Comet, in this addition to Murphy’s popular MathStart series (Seaweed Soup, below, etc.). Boy and dog are trying to return to Earth in their spaceship with the help of a control panel that contains six buttons in different three-dimensional shapes. They encounter some deep-space dangers (a meteor shower, a cloud of poison gas, a flying saucer, a galactic beast) and activate the three-dimensional buttons in turn to produce special effects to fight off the various threats. Each 3-D shape is described within the text, and the special effect or weapon incorporates a similar shape (for example, the cone-shaped button activates a large cone that sucks up all the poison gas). Finally the last button, a rectangular prism, releases the rectangular landing gear, and Captain Invincible and Comet crash-land in the center of the captain’s bedroom, where he returns to being a regular boy named Sam. The first-person text is told in speech balloons (except for the last page), in divided panels that coordinate with Simard’s cartoon-style illustrations. Teachers who are looking for stories that incorporate math concepts will use this space adventure with primary-grade students, and the comic book–influenced format will also appeal to older, more reluctant readers. (author’s note) (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-06-028022-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FREDA SAYS PLEASE
by Stuart J. Murphy ; illustrated by Tim Jones

- BOOK REVIEW
PERCY'S NEIGHBORHOOD
by Stuart J. Murphy ; illustrated by Stuart J. Murphy

- BOOK REVIEW
FREDA IS FOUND
by Stuart J. Murphy & illustrated by Tim Jones

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THE DOG THAT DUG FOR DINOSAURS

by Shirley Redmond & illustrated by Simon Sullivan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2004

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This easy reader for children reading at the fluency level recounts the story of a girl named Mary Ann Anning and her dog, Tray. They lived on the coast of England in the early 1800s, although the time frame is given only as “a long, long time ago.” Mary Ann and Tray became famous for their discoveries of fossils, including dinosaur bones. They discovered the first pterodactyl found in England, and the name was assigned to their fossil. The story focuses a little too much on the dog, and the title misses a great opportunity to completely acknowledge a girl accomplishing something important in the scientific world, especially in a much earlier era and without formal training or education. Despite this drawback, both Mary Ann and Tray are appealing characters and the discovery of the fossils and subsequent notice from scientists, collectors, and even royalty is appealing and well written. Sullivan’s illustrations provide intriguing period details in costumes, tools, and buildings, as well as a clever front endpaper of fossil-strewn ground covered with muddy paw prints. (Easy reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-689-85708-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT'S SPACE ROCKETS

From the Professor Astro Cat series

by Dominic Walliman ; illustrated by Ben Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.

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The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.

Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)