{"id":4327,"date":"2011-11-01T22:53:54","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T02:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=4327"},"modified":"2011-11-01T22:53:54","modified_gmt":"2011-11-02T02:53:54","slug":"review-of-zita-the-spacegirl-by-ben-hatke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=4327","title":{"rendered":"Review of Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Zita the Spacegirl<\/p>\n

Book One: Far From Home<\/em><\/p>\n

by Ben Hatke<\/p>\n

First Second, 2010. 184 pages.<\/p>\n

This is a fun graphic novel that will appeal to a wide variety of kids. We have adventure, humor, strange space creatures, robots, deathly peril, and lots of action.<\/p>\n

Zita’s adventures begin when she and her friend Joseph discover a crater with a smoking meteorite. Zita investigates and finds poking out of it a little device with a big red button.<\/p>\n

Joseph knows the obvious: If you push a big red button, you are asking for certain doom. Zita, however, cannot resist. She pushes the big red button — and tentacles appear and pull Joseph into a vortex, calling out to Zita for help.<\/p>\n

Well, Zita can’t just abandon Joseph when she was the one who pushed the button. She pushes the button again and gets sucked in herself.<\/p>\n

She finds herself on a distant planet — a planet that is going to be destroyed by an asteroid in three days. She sees Joseph taken away in a spaceship, and learns that he’s being held by the dread Scriptorians.<\/p>\n

So: Zita’s quest is to rescue Joseph and get back to earth before the planet explodes. Along the way she gains some strange companions — space creatures, robots, and others — all with their own quirks.<\/p>\n

I like the artwork — colorful, full of variety, and clear in what’s happening. (I don’t know much about art, but this is pleasing to the eye.)<\/p>\n

I’m not a big graphic novel fan, but I liked this one enough that I will keep my eyes open for Zita’s further adventures. I like her determination, her loyalty, and her spunk.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/zita_the_spacegirl.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

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