"Can sworn enemies work together to save the Spooniverse?" asks the cover of Space Dog. Yes, yes they can, in this giddy and hopeful outer-space adventure by British author-illustrator Mini Grey (Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey, Toys in Space, Hermelin: The Detective Mouse).
It's the year 3043 and it's time for Space Dog to go home after "a long mission sorting out planetary problems in the Dairy Quadrant," such as moving milk from a flooding planet to the dry and crunchy Cornflake 5. (Thanks, Straw People!) Just as Space Dog is safely back on the SS Kennel, he gets a distress call. A space ship has crashed into thick cream, but when he rescues the victim, it's a dreaded Astrocat! Astrocat takes a moment off from drowning to point out that Astrocats and Space Dogs are sworn enemies, but Space Dog says, "But there's no time for that now!" Aboard the ship, Astrocat and Space Dog get along swimmingly, playing Dogopoly and eating cake, until they get a call for help. It's coming from a planet that's "collapsing under the weight of its own cheesiness." And it's coming from a Moustronaut, yet another sworn enemy. They do the right thing, and in the end, the three adventurers set their controls for the "Unknown Zone" where they can all be "sworn friends."
Fans of Grey's Traction Man series will recognize the artful, turbo-charged spreads that explode with comic strip-style panels, expressive characters, hilarious cartoon-bubble asides, and so many details to chuckle over that repeat readings are required. --Karin Snelson, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness