Book Review: CatStronauts: Space Station Situation

Today we bring you a brief review of the latest in the adventures of the CatStronauts. Space Station Situation is book 3 in the series of graphic novels by Drew Brockington. As with the previous two books (Mission Moon and Race to Mars), this one is a lot of fun and contains plenty of adventure and science, all presented in one colorfully appealing page after another.

This time, the CatStronauts are on a mission to fix the Hubba Bubba Telescope. The telescope is critical for cats on Earth (including of course the World’s Best Scientist) to understand why everything is suddenly being hit by meteor showers. All in a day’s work for the CatStronauts … but after a mishap leaves Waffles, the talented pilot, floating alone in space, he becomes so terrified he is unable to go on with the mission. In fact, he quits the CatStronauts altogether and returns to Earth to retire.

The remaining CatStronauts soldier on, repairing the telescope and finally revealing the source of the constant meteor showers: an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. A plan is devised to save the planet, but only one cat on Earth has the ability to carry it out: Waffles. Now he must face his fears and return to space. Will he be able to carry the dangerous mission through?

Our verdict

We sort of already gave you our verdict in the first paragraph. We love this series, and we have eagerly anticipated Space Station Situation. The pages of the CatStronauts books beg to be read a second, third, and fourth time, because there are so many little details in the art that you don’t notice the first time through, when you are mostly taking in the story. Our only wish was for a page at the start of the book reminding us of who the characters are. This would be especially useful for readers who might happen to pick up this book without having read the first two. But that is a minor complaint.

We were never really fans of graphic novels before we picked up the first CatStronauts book, but the genre is definitely growing on us. Drew Brockington’s art is cute but not “cutesy,” the stories are engaging, and each book has a serious theme underlying all the fun. In Space Station Situation, the theme is facing your fears and not giving up. The book is recommended for ages 8–12, but old SoLT is 40 years past that (give or take), and she found it delightful (in other words, parents and grandparents will like it too). So, if you love cats and have even the vaguest interest in outer space, or if you know an 8- to 12-year-old who fits that category, we highly recommend Space Station Situation and the previous books in the series!

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!