The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom

by Mac Barnett, Shawn Harris (Illustrator)

Overview

Award-winning creators Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris are back with the second volume in the bestselling The First Cat in Space graphic novel series! Secret tales of woe, hilarious new characters, and dangerous plans of sabotage will keep readers delighted and laughing until the thrilling climax. Perfect for fans of Dog Man and InvestiGators.

The Moon Queen has been poisoned—by SOUP.

With few she can trust in her own royal court, she and First Cat will have to journey alone to find the antidote. If only LOZ 4000 were still with them . . . But our once-heroic toenail clipping robot is on the run, looking for new purpose in this vast universe. 

Unbeknownst to our trio, secret forces are working against them. In a world of villainous cowboys, high-speed chases, and falling pianos, can our iconic trio find their way back to one another and save the Moon Queen before it’s too late? And who would want to poison her? Is Captain Babybeard, the adorable baby pirate, in this one? 

Praise for The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza

“Ridicuously fun.” –Dav Pilkey, creator of Dog Man

“Epic.” –Kirkus

"Infectious." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Laugh-out-loud." — School Library Journal (starred review)

* Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List Selection * As Seen on the TODAY Show * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year * New York Public Library Best Book of the Year * An Indie Next List Selection *

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063084124
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/03/2024
Series:	The First Cat in Space , #2
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	5,958
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mac Barnett is is the 2025–2026 Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than thirty languages. His picture books include two Caldecott Honor–winning collaborations with Jon Klassen: Sam & Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn. Among his other popular books are I Love You Like a Pig, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli, and The Magic Word, illustrated by Elise Parsley. He lives in Oakland, California. You can visit him online at macbarnett.com.

Shawn Harris’s first illustrated book, Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, received seven starred reviews, was an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book, an ALA Notable, and a PW Best Book of the Year. His other picture books include Eggers's What Can a Citizen Do, which was a Time Magazine Best Children’s Book, Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy, A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett, and his own author-illustrated works Have You Ever Seen a Flower? and Doing Business. Harris also occasionally moonlights as singer-songwriter of the popular Oakland, California, band the Matches, whose early 2000s album art sparked his illustration career.  

Editorial Reviews

"This volume continues the nonstop madcap fun; returning readers will not be disappointed, and new ones will quickly become avid followers of the world’s first feline astronaut. Fans of unbridled, melodramatic tomfoolery will be over the moon." — Kirkus Reviews

"Fans will be thrilled to see their favorite characters back in action." — School Library Journal

"An elaborate and emotionally sincere graphic novel...[a] space-Western whodunit." — Horn Book Magazine

PRAISE FOR FIRST CAT IN SPACE ATE PIZZA: "In full, vivid color, the loose cartoon style exudes an infectious glee, flawlessly matching Barnett’s freewheeling, absurdist humor and plotting.”  — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Readers looking for the outer space high jinks and gentle humor of Brockington’s Catstronauts and the imaginative and fantastical worldbuilding of Andrews’s This Was Our Pact need look no further than this laugh-out-loud tale of the first cat in space."  — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The surprisingly earnest themes of friendship and individual purpose combined with the absurd humor should resonate with this audience of readers."  — The Horn Book

“A hilarious graphic novel.”  — New York Times

"Ridiculously fun and brilliantly illustrated.”  — Dav Pilkey, creator of Dog Man and Captain Underpants

"Epic lunacy."  — Kirkus Reviews

"Obvious work of creative joy. A definite winner in the age of Dog Man."  — Booklist

"Barnett is cruising comfortably in his usual lane of quirky humor, and Harris matches the absurdity with cleverly composed illustrations that balance visual humor with narrative necessity. Kids who have graduated from Binky the Cat will be delighted to join another furball on intergalactic adventures."  — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

PRAISE FOR A POLAR BEAR IN THE SNOW: “Mesmerizing.”  — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A winning must.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Perfect.”  — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Succinct . . . yet sophisticated”  — Booklist (starred review)

“An understated, reflective, and loving portrayal that also serves as a celebration of wonder and wandering.”  — Horn Book Magazine

“This is a frosty little whimsy with enough of an edge, between the hint at reality for the seals and the bear’s snarl at a human interloper, to be interesting, and Barnett deftly wields a tidy, P. D. Eastman-esque structure that immediately attracts listeners.”  — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

PRAISE FOR TOP SECRET SMACKDOWN (MAC B., KID SPY #3): "Exciting action sneakily infused with points about the relationship between reality and story, delivered by a narrator who can claim with literal truth that he saved the day "on porpoise."  — Kirkus Reviews

"This short chapter book, with a familiar graphic style from previous volumes, does not disappoint. Highly recommended for fans of the series, this title features more of the wacky humor they have come to expect."  — School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE CRIME (MAC B., KID SPY #2): "Barnett opens his casebook again-this time to solve a classic locked-room mystery...Almost every page contains Lowery's illustrations, loosely drawn and garishly colored in green and orange, which give the whole affair a zany feel that is much enhanced by the narrative with its running gags. Kudos to a pint-size Poirot, pre-Mustache!"  — Booklist

"Barnett's signature dry wit and snappy back-and-forths, particularly between the ingenuously sincere Mac and the standoffish Queen, keep the story steadily moving forward; a convoluted historical account of Colonel Blood's attempted robbery...Lowery's cartoony spot art, in black, green, and orange, provides additional historical and cultural information and frequently supports the narrative."  — The Horn Book

"Barnett and Lowery team up again in this second outing of international espionage mystery with royal overtones... this is a nifty mystery for young readers and a worthy sequel to the first."  — Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR MAC UNDERCOVER (MAC B., KID SPY #1): "Barnett and Lowery bring the funny to the serious art of espionage in a perfect interplay of text and illustration...Barnett interweaves tidbits of global history fit for trivia lovers, while Lowery's comic-style images play a key role in the humor...Told with a sense of nostalgia for 1980s history and pop culture, the silliness and originality of this book will hook young readers."  — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Barnett takes his readers on a fun-filled ride...Barnett's tone throughout the story is humorous, lighthearted, and a little glib, and the over-the-top story is sure to appeal to many readers...an enjoyable romp that will leave readers salivating for the sequel."  — Kirkus Reviews

"[Barnett's] riotous series debut as an adult recalling a 1980s childhood caper...goofy, two-color pictures by Lowery (the Doodle Adventure series) ramp up the silliness of this adventure...which should snare even the most hesitant readers."  — Publishers Weekly

"Barnett's knack for both quirky situational humor and heartfelt sentiment work in tandem to create a balanced-while still outrageous-early-chapter-book caper. Lowery's frequent cartoony black, yellow, and blue spot illustrations are integral to the narrative, providing clues to eagle-eyed readers and enhancing the humor."  — The Horn Book

Barnett's series falls squarely in line with works from Jon Scieszka's and Dav Pilkey's oeuvres, offering kids another solid choice for what to read next."  — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Funny as a crumpet. (But truly, secretly a hundred times smarter.)"  — Jon Scieszka, author of Caldecott Honor The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the New York Times bestselling series Frank Einstein

"With a perfectly absurd premise, dialogue that demands outlandish accents, and a plot that interweaves global history and complete silliness, Barnett royally nails it."  —  Abby Hanlon, author of the Dory Fantasmagory series

From the Publisher

08/01/2023

Gr 3–5—A failed set of assassination attempts on the Moon Queen—first by serving her poisoned soup, then by a knife attack carried out by an assassin disguised as a chef—send her and her close friend First Cat on a mission to find an antidote and determine who was behind it all. After an unsuccessful attempt to reconnect with their long-missing friend LOZ 4000, the toenail clipping robot, Moon Queen and First Cat pay a visit to a wizard who reveals the Moon Queen only has 24 hours from the time she tasted the soup to find the antidote before the poison turns her to glass. With 19 hours remaining, Moon Queen and First Cat set out to obtain the antidote, and chaos ensues. In a return to form for this sequel, now entirely set on the moon, many of the features of book one are present once again: artwork that has a simple but sophisticated style in its textured, retro-hued pastel chalk appearance with heavy black line work, variable and angular panels that denote action, footnotes that provide links to real world recordings of music referenced in the story, self-referential jokes that break the fourth wall, and humorously absurd plot twists and red herrings to keep readers on their toes. VERDICT Though not as strong a showing as the first book in terms of laugh-out-loud moments, this sequel still has much to enjoy, and fans will be thrilled to see their favorite characters back in action.—Alea Perez

School Library Journal

2023-07-26
A taste of poisoned soup spurs the Queen of the Moon and her feline companion into embarking on a quest for a curative fruit from the orbiting orb’s only golden glumpfoozle tree.

In further exploits attended by the monosyllabic, spacesuit-clad titular feline (“Meow”), Harris and Barnett bring back the cast of The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza (2022), from diaper-wearing buccaneer Captain Babybeard to computerized toenail clipper LOZ 4000, for a lunar ramble past a pair of mysterious killbots, Psychic Flying Eyeballs of Death, and other hazards. Depicted in rolling arrays of changing palettes and panel sizes and led by the opalescent Queen of the Moon—who, ignoring her loudly rumbling tummy, stoutly declares that “my reign will not be cut short by soup”—the expedition fetches up at last on the edge of a bottomless crater for a last-minute save, appropriately over-the-top grandstanding by a familiar AI with futile protagonistic ambitions (“How many pages did I get this time? 73?”), and a closing celebratory soupfest, depicted Last Supper–style by a vermiform da Vinci. This volume continues the nonstop madcap fun; returning readers will not be disappointed, and new ones will quickly become avid followers of the world’s first feline astronaut.

Fans of unbridled, melodramatic tomfoolery will be over the moon. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews