Blast Off with Doodle Tom: A Space Doodle Odyssey

A pencil serves as a rocket ship for Astrocat and a cartoon boy named Doodle Tom in an activity book that incorporates facts about the solar system (“The sun makes life on Earth possible by giving us just the right amount of heat and light”), the space race, planets, black holes, and more. Doodle Tom and Astrocat’s interstellar adventures unfold on graph paper, and Gravel’s matte spreads playfully urge readers to complete images and to contribute their own drawings: “Trace the shape and swirly markings on Venus and show what you might cook with this giant ball of heat. Hot dogs? Toast? Shish kabob?” The scientific and historical tidbits, hip aesthetic (Gravel’s illustrations at times recall the work of Calef Brown), and imaginative prompts should motivate space-loving readers to fire up their magic markers. Ages 6–up. (Nov.)