Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight

by Wendy Mass, Michael Brawer, Elise Gravel (Illustrator)

Overview

Archie Morningstar learns a big family secret and helps save the universe. All before breakfast!

It's not every day a regular kid like Archie gets to wake up at midnight. But today is Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Archie is finally allowed to ride along in his dad's taxi cab. He has been waiting eight years, eight months, and eight days for this moment to arrive.

But he's about to discover his dad is no ordinary cab driver...In fact, he drives an intergalactic space taxi! All night long, he shuttles aliens from one corner of the universe to another. And being a space taxi copilot is no easy task: Archie must steer them into wormholes, keep them from crashing into planets, deal with a very unusual cat...and save the universe from an evil mastermind!

Space Taxi marks the debut of a brand new chapter book series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Mass and teacher Michael Brawer, filled with humor, adventure, and plenty of science to impress your friends and teachers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316243209
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Series:	Space Taxi , #1
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	1,106,554
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Wendy Mass is the New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers, Pi in the Sky, Every Soul a Star, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, and A Mango-Shaped Space.

Michael Brawer spent 15 years as a teacher in New Jersey. An avid reader of science fiction, he has written curricula for courses on the subject. Wendy and Michael live with their family in New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

"Out-of-this-world fun."—Publishers Weekly

"Zany adventures, a wacky plot and plenty of slapstick humor make this a quick, enjoyable read. A solid start to a new chapter-book series."—Kirkus

"This series opener zips along at an energetic pace that will keep readers actively engaged. Plenty of humor and adventure [...] and the inclusion of science facts at the end adds an educational element...Readers will look to the stars for more interplanetary adventures to come."—School Library Journal

"The plot moves right along, helping the newly independent reader stay engaged. The description of the map is especially enticing: who wouldn't love a 3-D map that changes with every turn, opening up whole new galaxies? Occasional black-and-white cartoon illustrations add to the fun and keep the pages turning. The number 1 on the book's spine indicates that this is just the first adventure for Archie-here's to more to come!"—The Horn Book

"The plotting never overdoes it, the surprises are gentle, and the humor is always on target for a young demographic—Booklist

From the Publisher

01/20/2014
Mass (Pi in the Sky) and her husband Brawer kick off a lighthearted chapter book series introducing eight-year-old Archie Morningstar. It’s a Take Your Kid to Work Day like no other when Archie discovers that his father’s job as a taxi driver involves picking up fares all around the galaxy. “Top of the line,” brags Archie’s father after his cab sprouts wings and rockets into space. “It only clunks and groans to blend in with regular cabs on Earth.” Archie, it turns out, has inherited a talent as a “space map reader,” and he helps his father guide the cab through a wormhole to an alien world, where Archie meets a talking cat who’s a member of the Intergalactic Security Force and learns about a mysterious criminal organization known as BURP. The emphasis is on out-of-this-world fun, but Mass and Brawer give the Morningstar family a warm, jokey closeness, while also including scientific information (about gravity, wormholes, and exoplanets) that complements the action. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–12. Authors’ agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-02-19
Archie Morningstar has been waiting for "eight years, eight months, and eight days" to ride along with his taxicab-driving father. But when the night finally arrives, the experience proves to be out of this world. Archie had been looking forward to seeing more of the city, but his father is no ordinary cabbie. He drives a space taxi, with fares all over the known universe. Archie serves as his father's co-pilot for the night, helping him navigate wormholes, avoid asteroid fields and work the taxi's thrusters. But things get really interesting when Archie meets Intergalactic Security Force deputy Pilarbing Fangorius Catapolitus, aka Pockets, a talking space police cat who can shoot lasers out of his tail. Together, cat and boy take down a dangerous member of the evil organization BURP. Archie can hardly believe his luck when his father agrees not only to allow Pockets to live with them, but to take Archie on as his permanent co-pilot. Zany adventures, a wacky plot and plenty of slapstick humor make this a quick, enjoyable read. Simple illustrations and a trio of scientific definitions add to the narrative. A solid start to a new chapter-book series. (Adventure. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews