The King of Space

K-Gr 4—In this wild sci-fi picture book, scheming Rex lives with his family on a moog farm situated on a moon in the Gamma Quadrant. The six-year-old tricks his alien pal, Blip, into helping him build a "Dastardly Dung-Ray" and into equipping Rex's warbots with dung blasters. With these inventions, Rex crushes the Western Spiral resistance and crowns himself King of Space. The action intensifies when Emperor Bob and the Galactic Alliance decide to teach Rex a lesson. The diabolical child counters by kidnapping the emperor's daughter. With tension escalating, Rex confesses his misdeeds to his parents, and, surprisingly, his mother steps in to end the chaos. Duddle has crafted a far-out plot with many twists and turns. The text is scattered within the full-color digital artwork that is similar to his work in his pirate stories. Rich in details, the dark illustrations range from one expansive four-page spread, to double pages, and to multiple comic-book cells on single pages. The art is as inventive as the plot and firmly establishes the outer-space setting. Hilarious moogs appear as cows wearing space gear, and images of Rex's alien classmates reflect the depth of Duddle's creative mind. This action-packed story, starring a naughty boy, is one that readers will not soon forget.—Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH