Nicola Berry series by Liane Moriarty

Pan Macmillan, 2017.
Nicola Berry and the petrifying problem with Princess Petronella. ISBN 9781760554736
Nicola Berry and the shocking trouble on Planet Shobble. ISBN 9781760554743
Nicola Berry and the wicked war on the Planet of Whimsey. ISBN: 9781760554750
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Space Travel, Competitions. A trio of funny space travel books about Nicola Berry are rereleased, after first appearing in 2009.
Nicola Berry and the petrifying problem with Princess Petronella is the first of this three-book outer space adventure series for young readers written by adult author, Liane Moriarty. Each of the books is about 200 pages long, with about 40 chapters, making it an encouraging read for mid to upper primary readers.
Nicola Berry's life is changed completely when an odd looking man from another planet, Globagaskar, comes to earth on an even odder mission. This very tall person is on the lookout for someone to travel back to his planet, where as the Earthling Ambassador, she will try to convince the very spoilt princess on Globagaskar that earth is not to be used as a waste disposal dump.
She is not sure that she has the wherewithal to convince the girl, but off she goes with the blessing of Earth's inhabitants behind her. And once on Globagaskar her confidence begins to ebb.
Moriarty has developed a fascinating premise, akin to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) where earth is to be destroyed to make way for a super highway, and her characters are bubbling with enthusiasm and self doubt tackling the huge problem.
The other two in this fine series, Nicola Berry and the shocking trouble on Planet Shobble and Nicola Berry and the wicked war on the Planet of Whimsey were also first published in 2009, and have been rereleased as well.
They are just as funny as Nicola and her friends, The Space Brigade, find themselves in all sorts of trouble, but in using their considerable cleverness manage to elude their pursuers. Wonderfully entertaining, hilarious and with lots of jokes about society's hang ups, the series will be eagerly picked up by new readers.
Fran Knight