Mooki vs the big scary by Scotty James with Steve Worland and Dave Atze

Mooki is a cute little alien that lives on the moon and visits Earth to go on adventures with his human friend Cindy and her dog Ralph. Mooki likes to dream big and the adventure that Mooki suggests to his friends in this story is to climb a very tall mountain. It takes him a while to convince his friends that they will be able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. Cindy has heard that on this mountain there is a BIG SCARY and so, as they meet all kinds of enormous and interesting creatures and obstacles along the way, they wonder if any of them are indeed the big scary they have heard so much about. The story moves along at a fast pace with pages filled with cartoon style, black and red illustrations and very little text. David Atze artworks are bold and provide visual clues that will engage younger readers. There is a child-like quirky silliness through the text that will resonate with this age group. The themes of teamwork, friendship, resilience, facing your fears and embracing challenges are presented here in a way that is easy for children to understand and may teach them how to overcome obstacles and help to build self-confidence.

Mooki is a childhood nickname given to Australian snowboarding champion, Scotty James and is the inspiration for the main character in his debut book for young readers. It evolved into an alter-ego for James and inspired him to dream big and conquer any challenge he faced through his life and career.

Themes: Resilience, Aliens, Friendship, Teamwork.

Gabrielle Anderson