Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: A good, fun story
Cons: None worth dwelling on
The Bottom Line:
Commander Toad starts
Exploring watery place
Fun easy reader
In Space No One Can Hear You Splash Down
I’ve decided I need to reread all the Commander Toad books
this year. Research to find the best to give my niece and nephew for
Christmas, or at least that’s the excuse I’m using. I went back to
the very first one with Commander Toad in Space, which is very fun book.
Commander Toad and his crew on the Star Warts are always looking for strange new planets to
explore. They’ve just found one that appears to be made up
completely of water, so they take a floating lily pad with them so they can
land on the surface. However, they quickly discover they are not
alone on the planet. Who or what at else is there? Will
they be able to escape?
It’s been so long since I read the books that I didn’t
remember anything about this book before I sat down to reread it. I
was very pleasantly surprised at just how much fun it was. The plot
was decent and moved along at a good pace. It helped that the
characters were introduced quickly at the beginning of the book. The
illustrations by Bruce Degen are delightful and really help tell the story.
Of course, the jokes that spoof science fiction,
specifically Star Wars and Star Trek are numerous and add to the
fun. I’m sure I missed many of them as a kid, but as an adult I got
them and really enjoyed them. There are
also some puns that I greatly enjoyed.
These books are categorized as Easy Readers, and I agree
with that. The short sentences are a bit choppy, but that’s a minor
complaint and will be perfect for young readers. More importantly,
the vocabulary is simple enough for young readers to read. A few
words, mainly the characters’ names, might cause the reader to need some help
from an adult, but that challenge will be good for them.
I’m glad I remembered these books because they are
fun. If you’ve missed them, pick up Commander Toad in Space.
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