ASTRONAUTICAL!

Two brothers cross the stars to save their father.

One hundred years ago, the planet Zephyr in the Zephyr Galaxy shattered into countless neighboring chunks. Brothers Max and Lari watch their adoptive father get captured by the forces of Cynosure the planet breaker. A pair of twin stars agree to taxi them across the cosmos to get him back. Lari is immature the way a little sibling can be, goofing off and making himself the center of attention. Max, who’s proudly “almost thirteen,” is a little too eager to play the role of heroic captain. Together they meet anthropomorphic animals, a protostar in the form of a 1,000,006-year-old child, and sky-whales. There’s more to most characters than meets the eye, from the way Lari glows when he’s upset to Cynosure’s role in the breakup of Zephyr and the kidnapping of the boys’ dad. The combination of a space setting with fantasy logic makes for chaotic fun along the journey to the boys’ eventual maturation. The imaginative, jewel-toned illustrations contain visual clues that will engage readers, including the unnervingly large, black eyes of a mysterious old woman, and a map of the galaxy that changes to add new details at the beginning of each chapter. Most human characters have light skin; Max is pale with green hair, and Lari has tan skin and yellow hair.

This debut adventure across the galaxy is a pleasure to navigate, both cosmically and emotionally.