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Grey’s (Traction Man series) new picture book is about how a space dog, an astrocat, and a moustronaut survive the year 3043 by working together to overcome multiple disasters in the Spooniverse.
It’s not easy because they are “sworn enemies”, but their heroic qualities override their past judgements. Once they get to know one another over a game of Dogopoly, the animals discover they have things in common and that their new friends are an asset to the team. Astrocat is a great chef. Space Dog is brave, and Moustronaut is quick-thinking, especially when it comes to making plans for the future and about home.
I like how the popular board game features into this book: Nobody is completely sure of the exact rules… but it doesn’t seem to matter. This echoes the circumstances the three new friends find themselves in as they head off into the unknown zone to explore space together.
I wouldn’t read this book during storytime because there is a bit of dialogue that appears in speech bubbles between the characters in some parts of the story, but it would be fun to read one on one with a child. I think children will love the fantastical secondary characters in this book like the Spaghetti Entity, the Stink, and the inhabitants of Cornflake 5. There are also jokes that reference freeze-dried foods, the moon being made of cheese, and the Milky Way in this story.
This could segue into further discussions about space and astronauts.
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Space Dog