LEO GEO AND THE COSMIC CRISIS

Starting at opposite ends of this follow-up to Leo Geo and His Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth (2012), the intrepid explorer and his space-based scientist brother Matt Data trace looping paths through crowded spacescapes toward each other.

Before they meet in the middle, both encounter black holes, white holes, wormholes, asteroids, space pirates and some distinctly more unusual “space sights.” Hidden among improbably thick floating clouds of aliens and miscellaneous detritus are such items as “someone taking candy from a baby,” “a double-ended feline ferocity” and “some cute cookie thieves”—all detailed on preliminary lists inside the covers. Readers who carefully trace the science-minded sibs’ circuitous pathways will be rewarded with a nonstop barrage of chases, battles, goofy sight gags and silly details. They’ll also enjoy numerous meaty minilectures on topics astronomical, from how multistage rockets work and types of asteroids and stars to algebraic formulas for computing gravitational attraction and escape velocity. “I thought we were goners for sure,” proclaims Leo as he and Matt exchange a high-five at the volume’s center point. “But luckily I had good, sound science on my side!”

Don’t leave home without it.