Fiction - Science Fiction, Fiction - Animals - Mammals, Fiction - Early Readers

Space Cat (I Can Read Book 1 Series)

Name: Space Cat (I Can Read Book 1 Series)
Author: Doug Cushman
ISBN: 9780060089672

by Doug Cushman

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Overview

Space Cat and his trusty robot, Earl, are forced to land their rocket on a strange planet. Space Cat has to find more fuel to get home. Will he ever blastoff again?

Synopsis

Space Cat and his trusty robot, Earl, are forced to land their rocket on a strange planet. Space Cat has to find more fuel to get home. Will he ever blast off again?

Marilyn Courtot - Children's Literature

In this very simple story, Space Cat and Earl, his robot pal, make an emergency landing on a planet when their ship is hit by a space rock. Prior to this collision they had been discussing Earl's cooking skills which seem to be minimal—he makes noodles that are a sticky, gooey mess. After the accident, Space Cat goes out to obtain some fuel while Earl fixes the ruptured fuel tank and works on his cooking skills and in doing so ends up saving the day. Space Cat has no luck getting the necessary fuel, but when he prevents an explosion of the fuel processing device, the grateful king gives him what he needs. It is not much of a story, but the illustrations are amusing and it may have more appeal to beginning readers than to this adult reviewer. Part of the "An I Can Read Book" series. 2004, HarperCollins, Ages 4 to 8.

About the Author, Doug Cushman

Doug Cushman is the creator of many favorite mystery stories for young readers featuring such memorable heroes as the intrepid Aunt Eater, the grasshopper gumshoe Inspector Hopper, and the ace reporter Dirk Bones. He has also illustrated many books written by other authors, including Jack Prelutsky's What a Day It Was at School! He lives in Paris, France.

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Editorials

Children's Literature

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-These three books are a bit of a mixed bag. In Cazet's title, the bossy bird introduced in Elvis the Rooster Almost Goes to Heaven (HarperCollins, 2003) is forced into learning to say "please" and "thank you." Although the artwork is amusing, the story is confusing and the dialogue is difficult to follow. Expressions such as "Little Willie is busy.- He has a feather in every pie" will most likely perplex the intended audience. In Space Cat, a feline astronaut and his robot encounter some difficulty on their journey. The vocabulary is a bit challenging, and the comic drawings are primarily decorative. Overall, though, the book is an entertaining selection for more competent readers. In Ruby, a raccoon asks her friends, "What does it take to bake a cake?" She throws everything they suggest into the mix, including carrots, worms, flies, snails, and nuts. She bakes the terrible-smelling concoction, and when the friends sit down, they try their best to come up with nice things to say. Easy vocabulary and repetition make this a good choice for beginning readers, and the softly rendered pastel illustrations provide good picture clues. Skip Elvis, but add Ruby and Space Cat where books for beginning readers are in demand.-Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Working up an idea he claims he had when he was ten, Cushman introduces a resourceful feline space explorer, with a feckless sidekick robot named Earl. Forced by a leaky fuel tank to land on an unknown planet, Space Cat begs for fuel from the local king, Zorp, but gets the brush-off as Zorp claims to need it all for machines to clean up the environment. Disdain turns to gratitude, however, when one of those machines starts to fall apart, and Space Cat finds a good use for Earl's latest culinary experiment, gluey fish and jelly noodles. Fans of Commander Toad will sign on happily to this promising start, which features lots of aliens in oogy shapes and colors, a Fritz Lang-ish robot who really needs to be kept out of the kitchen, and an intrepid tiger-striped Lead clad in a nifty spacesuit. (Easy reader. 6-8)