Space Saver

K-Gr 2—After school, Ben goes to visit his parents at Mission Control. Usually, this means coloring or playing in the pretend spaceship that was set up for him. Today, however, something is wrong. People are yelling at each other and are worried about the Moon Buggy. The wheel has fallen off, and the astronauts' hands are too big for the tiny screws that attach it; the pictures that the device has taken are top secret and won't download; and the prime minister is furious. With time and solutions running out, it is up to Ben to save the day, so he goes to the moon with two other astronauts. It's all fun and games on the way there—he even gets to try space ice cream—but when he tries to screw the wheel back on, it won't turn. Will Ben be able to get it back on? The sentences are too long for the intended audience, the number of words per page seems a little inconsistent with other "Blue Banana"—level books, and some of the vocabulary is too advanced for beginning readers. British spellings and grammar should be noted. The use of speech bubbles and lively, colorful illustrations will engage children, but the story is totally unrealistic.—Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT