Space Taxi: Archie Takes Off

Mass (Pi in the Sky) and her husband Brawer kick off a lighthearted chapter book series introducing eight-year-old Archie Morningstar. It’s a Take Your Kid to Work Day like no other when Archie discovers that his father’s job as a taxi driver involves picking up fares all around the galaxy. “Top of the line,” brags Archie’s father after his cab sprouts wings and rockets into space. “It only clunks and groans to blend in with regular cabs on Earth.” Archie, it turns out, has inherited a talent as a “space map reader,” and he helps his father guide the cab through a wormhole to an alien world, where Archie meets a talking cat who’s a member of the Intergalactic Security Force and learns about a mysterious criminal organization known as BURP. The emphasis is on out-of-this-world fun, but Mass and Brawer give the Morningstar family a warm, jokey closeness, while also including scientific information (about gravity, wormholes, and exoplanets) that complements the action. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–12. Authors’ agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Apr.)