Jasper: Space Dog by Hilary Robinson and Lewis James (Children's, 7 years +, 10E/10E)

April 18th 2019, Strauss House Productions, 88 pagers, Paperback, Review copy

Summary from Strauss House Productions

Written to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landings in July 2019 and to tie in with the National Curriculum, Jasper: Space Dog is the first in a series of hilarious stories aimed at emerging independent readers.

Told in the form of letters, Charlie Tanner and his dog Jasper consult experts with a view to achieving their own astrophysical ambitions.

Nayu's thoughts

I never ever wanted to be an astronaut, unlike Jasper, but I do find space interesting. I had my interest piqued by this book because I recently read a Tintin book which involved space, so wanted to see what a dog wanted to learn about the world. Most of the info I did already know from my study of space when I was at school, and when I was blessed by being able to visit NASA in Florida at what I think is called the Kennedy Space Centre when I visited Disney World as a child - freeze dried ice cream tasted yummy! At least I remember it does, so whether it really does I can't say as it's been many years since that happened. 

I loved the interaction between Charlie (the boy) and the space expert who answers all the things that Jasper wants to know is true. I am forever grateful the moon isn't made of blue cheese - that would be gross on a major scale (raining cheese isn't something that sounds pleasant. Raining cute kittens, on the other hand, is something I'd cope with!) The facts are clearly explained, and Jasper's thoughts are ones that children would ask, especially the crazy ones. The illustrations added to the humour of the book, and I'm sure if I had this when I revised for exams I'd have learnt a lot from remembering the story. Jasper and Charlie are very welcome to be astronauts in the future, I much prefer to keep my feet on solid ground! However you think about space, it's kind of amazing that a human stood on it 50 years ago this summer.

Find out more on Hilary's website and you can follow Lewis on Twitter.

Suggested read

If you love learning about the world I suggest another series which looks at facts in a fun way: The Curious Science Quest: Cave Discovery and Greek Adventure by Julia Golding, Andrew Briggs and Roger Wagner (Children's, Non-fiction, 9/10E)