Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates

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
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