The Astronaughties
Moon Mayhem
Age 9+
Comic Strip Fiction / Graphic Novels
An out-of-this-world illustrated middle grade adventure that will have young readers giggling across the galaxy!
You may be asking yourself, dear reader, how three naughty kids, one pet octopug and their handsome robot minder – that’s me – accidentally got strapped inside a 400 megaton thermonuclear rocket on a one-way collision course to the moon? Good question!
Well, let me take you back to the beginning . . .
In 2120 the Moon has been transformed into the ultimate super-cool intergalactic amusement park. The Astronaughties, the children of some of the park’s designers, get a chance to visit the Lunar Park before it officially opens. But when they arrive, they discover their parents are missing. Now their mission is to find them, defeat the baddies and free a trapped alien. Hold on tight, this is going to be one wild rocket ride!
Creators
Andrew Cranna grew up in rural NSW. After studying Primary Education at university, Andrew travelled around the world teaching and playing rugby in various places. After finishing a bicycle adventure through Asia, Andrew settled in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to continue teaching and illustrating for travel magazines and local newspapers. Andrew later returned to Australia to complete a Masters Degree in Art Education and take up a position as Art Master at Sydney Grammar Prep School at St Ives where he continues to teach. He currently lives on the Central Coast with his wife and two sons and spends his travel time to school writing and drawing. His books include The Bloodhound Boys: The Great Blood Bank Robbery and The Bloodhound Boys: The Monster Truck Tremor Dilemma.
Reviews
This is a silly and fun story about three naughty little kids who end up on the moon. It definitely leans into the nonsense aspect and as the story goes, the adventure just gets more wild and random. It’s definitely perfect for younger readers with big, fun font, and it’s entirely illustrated as a graphic novel.
Paper Fury
One look at the cover of the Astronaughties is enough to let you know you’re in for a wild ride. This middle grade graphic novel is fast, furious and funny.
Reading Time
The AstroNaughties along with their octopug and robot minder are endearing, humorous characters, each with their own individual personalities and despite their moniker they are more naive than naughty. Their simple-thinking antics and commentary make for lots of fun and the fast-pace makes it a rip-through read, especially because there are no chapter breaks. Mission control back on Earth are simply useless and even the villain is funny. Most of the story is told through dialogue as well as some narration from the robot minder to give background information. This is a fun read!
ReadPlus
