A mission to the Moon reveals unexpected lessons (and life forms) in this fast-paced, comical, and profound illustrated middle-grade novel by author/illustrator duo Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr (Cookie Chronicles series).
Twelve-year-old Leo Brightstar, his dad, and several others arrive on the moon to start the first Moon colony. Leo's father says they are "bold pioneers on a top-secret mission" but, immediately upon touchdown, he leaves on a task that specifically states, "DON'T BRING THE KID." Leo is crestfallen--he misses his mother, who separated from his father back on Earth, and his best friend, Mitchell. Then, Leo's dad disappears and Leo's absence is the only one that won't be noticed while on a rescue mission. The boy quickly learns, though, that the first rule of life on the moon--"There is no life on the Moon"--is frighteningly inaccurate. He encounters the Moon's natural fauna, like Valrootens (who "are gentle and kind and have fabulous tentacles"), Wogglers (who "like to steal things" that "someone really cares about"), and the terrifying "scamper-waddling," Valrooten-eating Hortle. Absurdity abounds, along with trenchant messages about nature's balance and the human propensity to meddle.
Swanson's expressive and philosophical writing is a treat ("So, anyone can be a pioneer as long as they haven't been to a place, even if others have been there for a million years?"). Behr's appealing black-and-white illustrations capture the very-much-alive moonscape as well as the nature of Leo's ever-shifting mission. Life on the Moon is an expansive coming-of-age story as Leo faces what it means to be human, a colonist, a friend, and an alien. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor