Review - Binky the Space Cat

Binky the Space Cat (Binky #1)
by Ashley Spires
Date: 2009
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Reading level: C
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 64
Format: e-book
Source: library

Binky is a space cat - at least in his own mind. He's really a house cat who has never left the family "space station." Unlike other house cats, Binky has a mission: to blast off into outer space (outside), explore unknown places (the backyard) and battle aliens (bugs). Binky must undergo rigorous training so he can repel the alien attacks that threaten his humans. As he builds his spaceship, he must be extremely careful with his blueprints - the enemy is always watching.

Soon Binky is ready to voyage into outer space. His humans go out there every day and he's sure they need a certified space cat to protect them. But just as he's about to blast off with his co-pilot, Ted (stuffed mousie), Binky realizes that he's left something very important behind ... and it's not the zero-gravity kitty litter. In the first book in the Binky Adventure series, graphic-novel readers will delight in watching where this lovable and quirky cat's imagination takes him.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I've enjoyed many of Ashley Spires's picture books. I grabbed this one thinking it was another, but it's actually a short graphic novel about a cat who thinks bugs are aliens and that he must protect his humans from the alien threat at all costs.

The story is very simple, and many of the panels are just pictures of a rotund cat eating bugs and farting. But it's amusing and entertaining, and I'm sure kids (especially ones who like cats) will find a lot to like about Binky's quest to fight the aliens.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustration: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 ladybugs