March 1, 2022
Will extragalactic rats eat the moon? Can a cybernetic toenail clipper find a worthy purpose in the vast universe? Will the first feline astronaut ever get a slice of pizza? Read on. Reworked from the Live Cartoon series of homespun video shorts released on Instagram in 2020 but retaining that "we're making this up as we go" quality, the episodic tale begins with the electrifying discovery that our moon is being nibbled away. Off blast one strong, silent, furry hero--"Meow"--and a stowaway robot to our nearest celestial neighbor to hook up with the imperious Queen of the Moon and head toward the dark side, past challenges from pirates on the Sea of Tranquility and a sphinx with a riddle ("It weighs a ton, but floats on air. / It's bald but has a lot of hair." The answer? "Meow"). They endure multiple close but frustratingly glancing encounters with pizza and finally deliver the malign, multiheaded Rat King and its toothy armies to a suitable fate. Cue the massive pizza party! Aside from one pirate captain and a general back on Earth, the human and humanoid cast in Harris' loosely drawn cartoon panels, from the appropriately moon-faced queen on, is light skinned. Merch, music, and the original episodes are available on an associated website. Epic lunacy. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)

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Starred review from April 11, 2022
Adapting the “Live Cartoon” series that shares this title’s name, Barnett (John’s Turn) and Harris (Have You Ever Seen a Flower?) replace innovative papercraft and DIY camerawork with an assured graphic novel collaboration. When rats from another galaxy begin devouring the moon, Earth’s smartest scientists dispatch a cybernetically enhanced cat—the First Cat in Space—to deal with the threat. Accompanied by a guileless, toenail-clipping robot named LOZ 4000 and the proud Moon Queen, First Cat adventures across a madcap geography (frozen wastelands, violent seas, living forests) to confront the Rat King. An effective fluid panel structure and frequent perspective changes propel this fast-paced escapade from gag to gag in location after increasingly improbable location. Harris uses a thick, confident line to create an expansive cast of dynamic characters (mostly light-skinned) out of simple shapes, filled and shaded with textural colored pencil. In full, vivid color, the loose cartoon style exudes an infectious glee, flawlessly matching Barnett’s freewheeling, absurdist humor and plotting. Includes sheet music to one of the original series’ tunes, plus a link to a full collection of tracks. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

April 15, 2022
Grades 2-5 When evil rats from outer space begin eating Earth's moon, the only answer is to blast a cat in a space suit up there to deal with them. Thus begins a hilarious series of episodic space adventures, colored by a host of silly characters who help or hinder First Cat on his way to confronting the villainous Rat King. Best buds Barnett and Harris have here adapted their inspiring "live cartoon" video series into a meaty graphic novel, and it's an obvious work of creative joy. Gags from the videos are successfully repeated on the page, and the jokes work on multiple levels: even when some of the more meta humor goes over the heads of less experienced readers, there's visual and tonal comedy in every panel. Harris' thick-lined cartoon artwork adds undeniable grandeur and beauty to the settings of an otherwise goofy affair, and the character design is endearing, especially the laconic First Cat ("Meow"), who ventures to the moon with all the air of Washington crossing the Delaware. A definite winner in the age of Dog Man.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from May 1, 2022

Gr 3-5-When moths, the ocean, and a wereduck-all things impacted by the moon-start exhibiting strange behaviors, a scientist working at an observatory notices something incredible: the moon is being eaten by intergalactic rats! When officials at the military headquarters in the Hexagon learn they only have three days to stop the rats or else the moon will be lost altogether, they prepare to send in Project 47: a cat enhanced with microchips in its brain, a cybernetic biotech space suit, and a penchant for pizza. Running gags that manage to stay fresh, clever panel-crossings, and fourth wall-breaking book references are all part of the charming humor of this online experience turned graphic novel. The art is simple but sophisticated, with a rough chalk texture giving it a childlike appearance. The dominant colors of black and cornflower blue are used to represent outer space, but other colors are present-notably warm reds, yellows, and oranges. Many of the characters are anthropomorphic animals; protagonist First Cat never speaks beyond saying "Meow," but meaning is mostly explained via context. Of the humans, there is a mixture of white and BIPOC representation; the General and the scientist appear to be Black. Footnotes are left for readers on where to find music from the story online. VERDICT Readers looking for the outer space high jinks and gentle humor of Brockington's Catstronauts and the imaginative and fantastical worldbuilding of Andrews's This Was Our Pact need look no further than this laugh-out-loud tale of the first cat in space.-Alea Perez

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2022
What began as an online storytelling experiment between Barnett and Harris during COVID-19 has been adapted into a graphic novel. This wacky space opera follows a crew of unlikely heroes on a mission to stop a horde of moon-eating rats. The cybernetically enhanced First Cat, along with a brave moon princess and friendly toenail-clipping robot, travel to the dark side of the moon, where they encounter a bloodthirsty baby pirate, a thieving team of disembodied hands, and a three-headed Rat King. The breakneck, stream-of-consciousness plot can be dizzying but never fails to be entertaining. Barnett's fast-paced dialogue, pleasing non sequiturs, and humorous wordplay ("Oh my Uncle Tony's hot calzoney") are amplified by Harris's impressive illustrations. An invitingly simple thick crayon-like line is employed throughout the comic, from its cartoony imagery to panel borders to lettering. The surprisingly earnest themes of friendship and individual purpose combined with the absurd humor should resonate with this audience. Patrick Gall

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

"In full, vivid color, the loose cartoon style exudes an infectious glee, flawlessly matching Barnett's freewheeling, absurdist humor and plotting." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Readers looking for the outer space high jinks and gentle humor of Brockington's Catstronauts and the imaginative and fantastical worldbuilding of Andrews's This Was Our Pact need look no further than this laugh-out-loud tale of the first cat in space." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The surprisingly earnest themes of friendship and individual purpose combined with the absurd humor should resonate with this audience of readers." — Horn Book Magazine

"A hilarious graphic novel." — New York Times

"Ridiculously fun and brilliantly illustrated." — Dav Pilkey, creator of Dog Man and Captain Underpants

"Epic lunacy." — Kirkus Reviews

"Obvious work of creative joy. A definite winner in the age of Dog Man." — Booklist

"Barnett is cruising comfortably in his usual lane of quirky humor, and Harris matches the absurdity with cleverly composed illustrations that balance visual humor with narrative necessity. Kids who have graduated from Binky the Cat will be delighted to join another furball on intergalactic adventures." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for A Polar Bear in the Snow: ★ "Mesmerizing." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ "A winning must." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★ "Perfect." — School Library Journal (starred review)

★ "Succinct... yet sophisticated." — Booklist (starred review)

"An understated, reflective, and loving portrayal that also serves as a celebration of wonder and wandering." — Horn Book Magazine

"This is a frosty little whimsy with enough of an edge, between the hint at reality for the seals and the bear's snarl at a human interloper, to be interesting, and Barnett deftly wields a tidy, P. D. Eastman-esque structure that immediately attracts listeners." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for Top Secret Smackdown (Mac B., Kid Spy #3): "Exciting action sneakily infused with points about the relationship between reality and story, delivered by a narrator who can claim with literal truth that he saved the day "on porpoise." — Kirkus Reviews

"This short chapter book, with a familiar graphic style from previous volumes, does not disappoint. Highly recommended for fans of the series, this title features more of the wacky humor they have come to expect." — School Library Journal

Praise for The Impossible Crime (Mac B., Kid Spy #2): "Barnett opens his casebook again-this time to solve a classic locked-room mystery...Almost every page contains Lowery's illustrations, loosely drawn and garishly colored in green and orange, which give the whole affair a zany feel that is much enhanced by the narrative with its running gags. Kudos to a pint-size Poirot, pre-Mustache!" — Booklist

"Barnett's signature dry wit and snappy back-and-forths, particularly between the ingenuously sincere Mac and the standoffish Queen, keep the story steadily moving forward; a convoluted historical account of Colonel Blood's attempted robbery...Lowery's cartoony spot art, in black, green, and...