Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates - Hardcover

O'Malley, Kevin; O'Brien, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802795714 ISBN 13: 9780802795717

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2007

Synopsis

Planet Jurassica is under siege. The sinister space pirates have raided the Imperial palace and stolen the famous Jewels of Jurassica. This looks like a job for . . . Captain Raptor!. . . hero of a thousand space missions; champion of truth, justice, and dinosaurs in space throughout the galaxy. If anyone can track down those marauding space pirates, it's Captain Raptor and the fearless crew of the Megatooth!

About this title

About the Authors

KEVIN O'MALLEY is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series, as well as the New York Times bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share and many other books for children. He lives in Maryland.
www.booksbyomalley.com

Patrick O'Brien is the illustrator of A Wasp Is Not a Bee by Marilyn Singer. Mr. O'Brien makes his home in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4—Fans of Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery (Walker, 2005) will welcome this new adventure and clamor for more. Here, the captain and his crew must track down the space pirates who have raided the Imperial Palace and stolen planet Jurassica's jewels. Blasting off on the Megatooth, they follow the pirate vessel's ion trail through space. The pirates fire tons of molten lead at their starship, which lands hard on a barren moon. There, Captain Raptor discovers a mysterious castaway who fixes their shattered plutonic servoscope, but is Bloody Bart Scalawag—with a hook for a hand and a pirate's salty vocabulary—friend or foe? This graphic novel comes alive with O'Brien's watercolor and gouache illustrations. The action moves quickly in small frames dense with realistic dinosaurs in armor and the inner workings of spaceships. Dramatic chase and battle scenes are depicted in full-page illustrations or full-bleed spreads. The writing is melodramatic and true to form with frequent cliff-hangers ("Could this be the end of Captain Raptor?"), sound effects ("BLAM! BLAM! BOOM!"), and key phrases in bold typeface. Few readers—reluctant or otherwise—will be able to resist this clever mix of dinosaurs, pirates, and science fiction.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Captain Raptor, who appeared most recently in Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery (2005) returns, this time on a mission to save his home planet from raiding space pirates. The Captain is aided by Scalawag, the deposed captain of the pirates, who later betrays Raptor and his crew. Things look bleak, especially since Raptor's spaceship lacks the firepower to take on the pirates. Raptor, however, is ready with tricks of his own, and he sends the pirates to jail at the story's end. The plot is thin; what stands out are the comic-book style illustrations, which place dinosaurs into outer space. Some young readers may reject this flight of fancy, but many will find the combination of scaly skin, huge teeth, elaborate spaceships, and explosions on nearly every page completely irresistible. A sure hit with dino/sf fans and an undoubted draw for reluctant readers. Morning, Todd

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802795714
• ISBN 13: 9780802795717
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: O'Brien Patrick
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32