Best known for serializing Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Funbrain – a division of Poptropica, which provides a safe environment for educational games and online stories – released its newest online book, Galactic Hot Dogs by Max Brallier, illustrated by Rachel Maguire. In the first episode, Mega Dog, which launched earlier this week, best buddies Cosmoe and Hymphree head for the Intergalactic Food Truck Cook-Off on a spaceship called the Neon Wiener. Additional episodes will be released on Tuesdays through December 2.
“Ever since we had the good fortune to be the first publisher of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, we have been looking for the opportunity to introduce another magical cast of characters to kids around the world,” said Jess M. Brallier, publisher of Funbrain and Max’s father. “We found that magic with Galactic Hot Dogs, a funny, imaginative exploration of space, friendship, bad guys, young romance, and the business of selling hot dogs across the galaxy.”
Author and game designer Max Brallier has written other books for kids, including some based on the virtual world of Poptropica, created by Kinney and, like Funbrain, part of Pearson. Coming next year are two new series: an early chapter-book series, Eerie Elementary (Scholastic), and one for middle-grade, The Tree House at the End of the World (Viking).
