Nuts in Space

 

The minute I saw Nuts in Space I became very excited. I was a huge fan of Dolan’s first picture book, “Weasels”. On reading Nuts in Space I was not disappointed. It is a very similar layout to Weasels with every page packed full of fun and interesting things to spot.

 

 

Nuts in Space is a parody of Star Wars, I have not seen the films and I still found this book hilarious. The tale begins with a Star Wars style introduction with an overview of the story telling us about the fantastical “Lost Nuts of Legend” which will render the eater immortal, invincible and it will never be past their bedtime. However, the nuts must never be eaten. The hapless crew have the nuts and are returning to Earth, only they are very hungry and there is no food on board their space ship.

The crew soon find that their usually reliable star-nav has broken down. Immediately the crew go into meltdown at the thought of not being home for tea and having the forbidden food on board. They then travel from location to location trying to find directions on how to get back home. Along the way they come across a rowdy diner that has also run out of food, a small moon full of aliens that are all allergic to nuts, the Forest Planet that is home to some rather sinister and cute bears and lastly (and my favourite) the ominous Death Banana. The Death Banana is where the evil (storm trooper) monkeys live with their leader the Monkey Overlord. When the crew are attacked the Wise Owl spots a sign for home and the gang manage to make a speedy getaway.

 

Once back on board the ship the crew make a terrible discovery. Beaver could not contain his hunger anymore and has eaten The Lost Nuts of Legend! Captain Moose is left with no choice but to turn his ship around and head once more back into space in search for more nuts, much to the crew’s dismay.

 

 

 

This picture book was an absolute delight to read. I absolutely loved going through each page and finding the funny little jokes and hidden puns. I really liked that this book appeals to adults as much as children. As with Weasels this will go with my vast collection of picture books and will come out when I’m in need of a good giggle.