Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson

Faber & Faber, 2015. ISBN 9780571303083
Recommended. Nothing is left to the imagination in Space Dumplins. This book is a vibrant, glossy pictorial, written and illustrated with a passion that will enthral the reader to the last page. It's totally gripping, mesmerising fun.
Would you like to visit Shell-Tarr? It's the ultimate in astral comfort and security, top of the line in luxury and modern tech.
Or perhaps you'd like to take a wild ride in one of the out-of-this-world space machines, the zooming Burger Bus, or Muskellunge Trike, each of audacious design with exciting, gadgetry that no intrepid space kid could resist. Could you deal with the challenges of the Lumpkins or Jirglebytes, something that looks like an enormous crayfish, or the ghastly Spill - a flood of green, slimy whale diarrhea! Ugh!
Violet lives with her mum and dad in a futuristic space environment that author, Craig Thompson, has dazzlingly conjured up from his fertile imagination. Violet's mum works in the zany fashion industry and her dad, Big G, harvests whale 'timber' for energy nuggets. The guardian robot, Chaperdrone, looks suspiciously female and tries, mostly in vain, to keep Violet and her new friend, Elliot, the bright little chicken button-runner, in check. Zacchaeus, another tough little character, joins in as the three rocket from one adventure to the next as the trio face peculiarly earth-related problems.
Then Gar (Big G) goes missing and the three find themselves on a very dangerous mission through the somewhat decrepit environment of smashed-up earth junk and debris, as they try to find and rescue Violet's missing dad. Tension causes emotions to boil over as the likeable trio try desperately to escape from the Mucky Way? After all, it's the largest garbage deposit in the galaxy.
You'll find the text easy-to-read, and when you've finished share it with your little brother or sister. Guaranteed to keep them quiet longer than usual, but don't read it to them just before bedtime!
J Kerr-Smith