Space Dogs

August 1, 2006
Gr 5-8 -This off-the-wall science-fiction comedy verges on the absurd. In 1957, a spaceship launched by the Soviet Union contained Laika, the first dog in space. It entered a wormhole and crashed on the alien planet Gersbach. Forty-nine years later, Gersbach is in danger of breaking apart due to an invisible force called a Disturbance of Gravity (D.O.G.) that -s flowing from the wormhole and creating planetary seismic tremors. Two of Gersbach -s best Galactanauts, doll-sized Belka Sparkleman and Strelka Funkmaster, are chosen to head a space mission through the wormhole back to Earth to find and destroy the source of the D.O.G. They assume that all of Earth -s inhabitants are dogs like Laika so they travel in an aircraft that resembles a terrier. Escaped prisoner Colonel Bars, his squad of fighting fleas, and Flanger Damka, his beautiful female accomplice, have stolen another Gersbachian aircraft in the shape of a dachshund and are determined to find the D.O.G. for themselves. Both rival teams land in Australia and are adopted by the angst-ridden Buckley family, including Lucy, 11, and Amy, 14. In the course of their mission, the Gersbachians have outrageous encounters with a garden gnome, feral cats, sheep, cockroaches, cockatoos, and a Russian rocket scientist. This novel has too many subplots, simplistic writing, and a frantic pace, but middle school readers with a penchant for silly-sounding names and bad puns will have a blast." -Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2006
Gr. 4-7. A series of mishaps have required the Buckleys to move from the country to the city. Beth and Tom Buckley are doing what they can to make ends meet, while their daughters, Amy and Lucy, try to adjust to city life but find fitting in with their schoolmates a challenge. The realistic family story crashes head-on into quirky sf when the sisters discover that the two apparently stray mutts in their neighborhood are really dog-shaped vehicles from outer space. Both are occupied by tiny Gersbachians, extraterrestrials who have traveled through a wormhole seeking the Disturbance of Gravity (D.O.G.) that is destroying their home planet. As the mechanical canines converge upon the source of the disturbance, the Buckleys' front yard becomes ground zero in a battle between two mission commanders with very different aims. Offering witty glimpses of both human and alien perspectives, this is an action-packed, cleverly plotted, exuberantly silly story that will delight imaginative middle-graders, particularly those who enjoy tongue-in-cheek sf such as Terry Pratchett's " Only You Can Save Mankind "(2005).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2006
Aliens Belka and Strelka come to Earth in a dog-shaped spacecraft to save their home planet from a devastating gravity source. Slapstick ensues when a human family takes them in--along with their dachshund-craft rivals, the evil aliens Bars and Flanger. Flat characters and a tendency to rush from joke to joke keep this too-busy situation comedy from achieving its potential.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)