Prolific children’s book creator Bruce Hale’s newest series of illustrated chapter books—the Outer Space Mystery Pizza Club, illustrated by Luke Séguin-Magee—begins with intergalactic space adventures Elvis Is Missing and Grunthar’s Revenge. Siblings Mateo and Valentina are watching TV with their friend Booker and babysitter Jennica when Elvis, the family dog, escapes the house in pursuit of a strange figure. After Elvis is sucked into a mysterious portal, the three tweens and their beleaguered babysitter must do everything they can to get him back before Mom and Dad get home. Arriving in Boogbee City on the planet Kroon, the crew encounter alien teens Clorox and Noway who offer to aid them in their quest. Hale spoke with PW about the joys of writing for children, collaborating with other creators, and incorporating his own sensibilities into his works.

Silliness and adventure with friends and animal companions are core themes throughout your backlist. Why are these concepts so important to your work?

I write what is fun for me. I love using animal characters. I’m fascinated by animals, plus I like to draw them. It’s part of the reason I developed the Chet Gecko books and the Class Pet series. I think that’s the world of kids as well. Kids love to get out there with their friends and explore and have adventures.

How did you incorporate these themes into Elvis Is Missing?

Heading to a different planet looking for your dog is quite an adventure to go on with your sibling and friend, so I think that fits in.

And as for the humor, that’s just my outlook on the world. It helps keep me sane to have a sense of humor. I know from all the editors I’ve talked to over the years that this is one area of children’s literature that is kind of evergreen. Kids love to laugh and I’m happy to be able to help them do that.

How did working with Luke Séguin-Magee compare to the other illustrators you’ve collaborated with?

It was good fun. One thing I like about working with other illustrators as opposed to illustrating my own work is that they see things and come up with ideas that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. That was certainly the case with Luke. He matched the weird stuff that I came up with on the alien planet with his own visual take. We were a good fit that way.

How do you decide which books to bring in another illustrator for and which works to take on yourself?

I’m a cartoonist at heart. I’m not a fine artist. So if the work is within my cartoon wheelhouse, if it’s something I would really enjoy drawing, I try to assign it to myself. The publisher doesn’t always agree—sometimes they’ll say, “We definitely want to use so-and-so,” or “I know somebody who’s perfect for this”—but most of the time they do. And if it’s not quite something I’ve done before, or I think it might benefit from a different mindset and a different set of skills, I’m happy to let another illustrator tackle it. If I had illustrated Clark the Shark, it wouldn’t have come out anywhere near as cool as Guy Francis’s illustrations, so I’m happy to collaborate.

What can fans of your work expect to see in the Outer Space Mystery Pizza Club that’s different from your previous books?

One thing that they’ll see that I was really excited about tackling is the whole concept of aliens and an alien planet. I found that writing that really liberated my imagination. If you write about a school setting, you’re somewhat constrained by the realities of what school is like. But once you transplant a story onto an alien planet, literally anything could happen, and that makes for a fun adventure. Readers are going to see some wild, imaginative stuff: monsters and problems with gravity. I had a blast coming up with all the things that could go wrong on an alien planet.

As for later volumes, I like to think that now that the Earthlings have alien friends, those alien friends can enlist them in other adventures on their planet or on a different planet. The sky’s the limit with a series that’s set partly in space. If you have a book where you’ve got broccoli smugglers and pizza-loving aliens, anything can happen.

What else are you working on?

I am working on another illustrated chapter book, though I’m not ready to reveal the concept yet. It does involve animal characters, and they’re going to be making a lot of trouble.

In my other life, when I’m not working on children’s books, I’m a band leader for a salsa band here in Santa Barbara, so I make a lot of music. I wrote a song for the Outer Space Mystery Pizza Club that Penguin used in an animated trailer. Whenever I can, I try to bring music into the world of children’s books.

Elvis Is Missing (The Outer Space Mystery Pizza Club #1) by Bruce Hale, illus. by Luke Séguin-Magee. Penguin Workshop, $7.99 paper Oct. ISBN 978-0-593-66017-1

Grunthar’s Revenge (The Outer Space Mystery Pizza Club #2) by Bruce Hale, illus. by Luke Séguin-Magee. Penguin Workshop, $7.99 paper Oct. ISBN 978-0-593-66019-5