Binky Under Pressure

by Ashley Spires, Ashley Spires (Illustrator)

Overview

In Binky’s third adventure, our intrepid, sometimes accident-prone hero is shaken out of his routine when he’s forced to contend with Gracie, a dainty striped foster kitty who comes to live at Binky’s space station (aka his home at 42 Sentinel Parkway). Binky instantly resents the new arrival, whose cute face and perfect manners are downright annoying. Indeed, Gracie seems too perfect. So Binky decides to do some undercover investigating and discovers a shocking truth about the family guest. Soon Binky is thrust full-throttle into a situation that puts all his Space Cat skills to the ultimate test!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554537679
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	09/01/2011
Series:	A Binky Adventure Series , #3
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	GN240L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Ashley Spires grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the supposed stomping grounds of Bigfoot. She is the author and illustrator of a number of books for children, including Small Saul and the Adventures of Binky the Space Cat. She was the recipient of the 2011 Silver Birch Express Award and the 2011 Hackmatack Award for Binky the Space Cat and was shortlisted for a Joe Shuster Comics for Kids Award and an Eisner Award for Binky Under Pressure. Ashley currently lives in British Columbia.

Ashley Spires grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the supposed stomping grounds of Bigfoot. She is the author and illustrator of a number of books for children, including Small Saul and the Adventures of Binky the Space Cat. She was the recipient of the 2011 Silver Birch Express Award and the 2011 Hackmatack Award for Binky the Space Cat and was shortlisted for a Joe Shuster Comics for Kids Award and an Eisner Award for Binky Under Pressure. Ashley currently lives in British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

Fans will celebrate; aliens will quiver in fright.—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Another winning entry in the series .... Sure to be a hit with graphic-novel fans and cat lovers.—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

K-Gr 4—Another winning entry in the series. In this installment, a new character enters Binky's well-regulated space station. While Gracie poses as a foster cat competing for his humans' affections, Binky soon realizes that she is in fact a captain in F.U.R.S.T. (Felines of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), and she has come to evaluate the performance of his space-cat duties. He struggles at first with the trials she sets before him, but when a real danger emerges, he and Gracie work together to protect their home from insect invaders. The story is cinematically told; Spires pulls into close-ups at key moments and shifts fluidly between the vantage points of her two main characters. Pages are well laid out; while the placement and shape of panels vary, they always guide readers' eyes easily through the action, and flashback and fantasy are easily distinguished from real-time events through the use of wavy panel boundaries. As always, the story is infused with laugh-out-loud moments aimed both at kids (Binky's recurring bouts of space gas) and at adults (annoyed at Gracie, Binky thinks, "If this is what girls are like, he's glad he's fixed"). The addition of Gracie gives the story a stronger conflict and greater dramatic heft than was found in the previous books, capped by a satisfying resolution that sets the stage for the space cat's next escapade. Sure to be a hit with graphic-novel fans and cat lovers.—Kate Hewitt, Far Brook School, Short Hills, NJ

School Library Journal

Binky the Space Cat returns for his third not-so-quite-out-of-this-world adventure.

The doughty astronaut keeps his humans safe in their space station (suburban house), but his life has become boring...nap, snack, cuddle, nap, catch aliens (bugs), nap. Then his humans bring home foster cat Gracie. Andquelle horreur! He must share his food, litter and best friend, Ted! When explaining the situation to Gracie doesn't work, Binky stalks her, taking notes. She's too perfect; maybe the aliens created a robot cat in an attempt to infiltrate the space station. But no, when Binky tests Gracie to see if she hates aliens as much as he, she reveals her true identity: Captain Gracie of F.U.R.S.T. (Felines of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), clearance level 6, License to Scratch; she's Binky's superior and it's time for his annual review! Binky must prove himself or lose his commission. He's made some mistakes in the past, but his humans and his space station need him now! Then aliens actually do invade; will Gracie and Binky be able to beat back the attack? All the ingredients are present for Spires' chubby and sweetly delusional kitty's return: Binky's wild imaginings, deadpan humor, occasional space gas (poot).

Fans will celebrate; aliens will quiver in fright.(Graphic fiction. 7-14)

Kirkus Reviews