Akiko And The Intergalactic Zoo FROM OUR EDITORS
After Akiko saves heir-apparent Prince Froptoppit, the King of Smoo expresses his appreciation by sending our pint-sized heroine and her buddies on an all-expense-paid vacation to the planet of Quilk. Akiko, Spuckler Boach, Gax, Poog, and Mr. Beeba are delighted by this opportunity to visit the famed Intergalactic Zoo. However, when the zookeeper decides to add Akiko to his personal collection, the gang decide to cut their vacation short.
ANNOTATION
Fifth-grader Akiko's old friends from the planet Smoo return to Earth to take her to see an intergalactic zoo, where she has a harrowing adventure with a winged Zullziban girl.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Akiko, the Earthling hero best known for helping rescue Prince Froptoppit of the Planet Smoo, has been back on her home planet for several months now. She’s just started fifth grade and has been made leader of the school safety patrol. But Akiko’s not-so-normal adventures start up again when the grateful King of Smoo sends Akiko, Spuckler Boach, Gax, Poog, and Mr. Beeba on an all-expenses-paid vacation to the planet Quilk–home of the Intergalactic Zoo!
Wonders abound at the zoo. There are so many creatures of every shape, color, and size wandering around that it’s hard to tell the difference between the animals and the visitors. Then the zookeeper takes a special interest in Akiko, and she is added to his personal collection! Will Akiko and her friends find a way to escape from this nightmare vacation?
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
As a show of gratitude for rescuing Prince Froptoppit, the King of Smoo sends Akiko and her friends on a vacation to the planet Quilk to visit their famous zoo in Akiko and the Intergalactic Zoo by Mark Crilley. But the zookeeper wants Akiko for his special collection can her friends free her? (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Norah Piehl
This fifth book in the series of novels featuring space-traveling comic-book star Akiko is the first stand-alone adventure in the series. Fifth-grader Akiko thinks she's done having adventures after her heroic rescue of the prince of the planet Smoo. However, King Froptoppit wants to send her on a vacation to thank her for saving his son, and soon enough, Akiko finds herself winging through space with her motley crew of alien friends. Their destination? The planet Quilk, home of an immense collection of creatures from around the universe. At first, Akiko is pleased by their host's solicitous attention, as he takes them on a private tour of the zoo. Soon, though, she begins to suspect that the zookeeper is interested in the "Earthian" not as a visitor to the zoo, but as a potential specimen. It's up to Akiko and her friends to escape from the giant zookeeper and find their way back to their spaceship. A fast-moving plot and imaginative descriptions of alien creatures make up for the lack of character depth. Although this adventure does stand alone, readers might enjoy Akiko's story more if they are familiar with the earlier books in the series. Anime-inspired drawings are interspersed with the text. 2002, Random House/Dell Yearling, Ages 7 to 10.
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-In her fifth novel, Akiko, who in an earlier book helped to rescue Prince Froptoppit of the planet Smoo, is rewarded for her good deed with a vacation to the planet Quilk's famous zoo. All goes well (although the descriptions of the amazing creatures are boring) until the director of the zoo discovers that Akiko is an "Earthian." The gleam in his eye and his subsequent actions signal disaster, which the fifth grader doesn't suspect until she is trapped in a specimen room and separated from her friends. The buildup to her capture is perhaps the most interesting portion of the story, because readers can see what she cannot. The only real spark of character development is evidenced in Ladmi, a winged beauty with an attitude. On the whole, the book is uneven, providing little depth of plot, theme, or character, and its story line is bumpy. Comic-book fans may enjoy the generous array of black-and-white cartoon illustrations, but they could soon become discouraged by the difficult language and the many lagging sections in the narrative.-Susan Weitz, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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