Mission Moon

First in the CatStronauts series, newcomer Brockington’s graphic novel for the chapter book crowd casts short, fireplug-bodied cats in the place of human astronauts, providing rich opportunities for jokes. Waffles, Major Meowser, Pom Pom, and Blanket are summoned when an energy crisis hits Brockington’s cat-run version of the U.S. and instructed to install a solar power plant on the moon. Humor and suspense compete throughout, and as goofy as the mission is, the pacing and arc of actual moon landings give this version its own preset climax and triumphant conclusion. Capturing the action in playful, mock-heroic, full-color cartoons, Brockington mines space theater for everything from tense drama (“We’re supposed to be the CatStronauts. The best of the best. But we’re acting like a bunch of barn kittens”) to technology (“I can hook up Cat-Stro-Bot to the main computer and use his ear sensor arrays as a backup navigation system”). Even the chapter headings get in on the fun, picturing a can of tuna drifting gently through the darkness of deep space. Available simultaneously: Race to Mars. Ages 6–10. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. (Apr.)