
I braved the below freezing temperatures in Portsmouth NH to walk down to a cool bookstore called River Run Books. The children's book section is designed like a castle, with paintings of dragons on the wall. I knew as soon as I walked in that I would find something great.
Zita The Space Girl is the first in a series of graphic novels about a girl who is sucked through a space portal with her friend Joseph to a far away planet. Unfortunately, she quickly discovers that the planet is doomed by an astroid heading straight for it. She needs to find Joseph, who has been kidnapped by a creepy robot-thing with tentacles, and get back through the portal - that is, if her new friend Piper can fix the portal.
Zita makes several important friends along the way and together they figure out how to solve many of the problems they face on the journey. The ending, though, is a little bit of a surprise.
Our classroom library only includes Book #1 in this series but I'll be on the lookout to get the others. In the meantime, check out Ben Hatke's blog and see how he creates his stories.