Cakes in Space

Gr 2–5—Ten-year-old Astra and her family are moving to a whole new planet, aptly named Nova Mundi. Since it takes 199 years to get there, the space travelers will be frozen in sleeping pods. Astra's skeptical—and hungry! She decides that she needs a snack before going into hibernation, so she asks the ship's super computer robot, Nom-O-Tron, to make her the "ultimate cake…so delicious it's scary." The robot goes to work, but the girl's parents put her into her sleeping pod before any cake is produced. When Astra wakes up early, she discovers that Nom-O-Tron has made decidedly scary cupcakes that seem to be eating anything they can find. Can Astra and her robot sidekick Pilbeam save the ship? Add some otherworldly pirates and a slithery, creepy alien called the Nameless Horror, and you have a wacky and fast-moving, if somewhat outlandish, adventure. While the full-color cartoon illustrations can seem like something from The Jetsons, that won't matter to budding readers ready to step up to chapter books. Underlying lessons about not judging by appearances and being careful what you ask for contribute to a happy ending with some sci-fi fun along the way.