Book Review: CatStronauts: Mission Moon and Race to Mars

What’s fun and furry and orbits the Earth, Moon, and/or Mars? A CatStronaut, of course. If you’ve never heard of CatStronauts before, that’s because they’re brand new, appearing in two graphic novels for young readers: Mission Moon and Race to Mars, both by Drew Brockington. The publisher’s recommended age range is 8–12 years, but we think it’s probably more like 8 to infinity, because old SoLT is way older than 12, and she found the books to be delightfully entertaining.

Cats save the world with science and teamwork

The story opens in CatStronauts: Mission Moon with a world in crisis. There is not enough energy to run everything anymore. So the World’s Best Scientist devises a plan: send the CatStronauts to the moon to set up a solar energy station that will beam energy back to Earth. We then see the four cats—Major Meowser, Waffles, Blanket, and Pom Pom—training and working together to make their mission a success. The story continues in CatStronauts: Race to Mars with some competition to reach the red planet. Three other teams get a head start on the journey. Will the famous CatStronauts be able to catch up? And will all this competition lead to success or disaster? Again, science and teamwork save the day.

Delightful details

We loved both of these books. The stories are dramatic and engaging, and the art is a joy to look at. There are delightful details to be found if you pay attention: the “Hang in There” poster with a kitten hanging from a tree branch, the hula dancer on the console. And the CatStronauts embody the best parts of science. They have a natural curiosity and a willingness to try things and to persevere when the going gets rough, and they know how to collaborate with others for the best results.

We are so excited to see the next book in this series (CatStronauts: Space Station Situation, due out in October), we have already pre-ordered it.

Highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!