As I’m sure you’d expect, I read a lot of children’s books (in fact, whatever there is on the monsters’ shelves) – and it’s about time I paid homage to two of the best series out there: Astrosaurs and Astrosaurs Academy by Steve Cole.
The initial Astrosaurs series takes the simple idea of dinosaurs in space (I’m not really kicking myself that I didn’t think of it first…) and builds an entire universe around it. While some people believe that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteor strike on the Earth millions of years ago, the truth is that the creatures had discovered space travel and vacated the planet long before the big pebble hit us. Now, the Dinosaur Space Service works hard to protect the peace-loving herbivore side of the galaxy safe from attack by the far nastier carnivores.
My favourite book in the Astrosaurs series is the first adventure – Riddle of the Raptors – in which Captain Teggs Horatio Stegosaur is finally given his own ship – the DSS Sauropod – and sets off to transport elite athletes to the Dinosaur Games. However, when two head-butting stars are kidnapped then easily rescued, it’s up to Teggs and his crew to find out what the wicked raptors are up to…
While Teggs continues to boldy go about his adventures in deep space, author Steve Cole next takes us back to his roots as a young cadet at the Astrosaurs Academy – with a new group of friends, and new baddies to face! The most enjoyable tale in this series, in my opinion, is Jungle Horror. In this adventure, Colonel Gruff and his staff mysteriously disappear, and a new group of teachers arrive to force feed mis-information about the galaxy to the eager cadets. However, Teggs soon begins to suspect that something is amiss and he sets off with his friends to track down their former tutors and expose a wicked plot to train a generation of useless Astrosaurs!
But that’s not the limit to Steve Cole’s abilities… His hilarious series for the same age group, Cows In Action, follows a herd of time-travelling bovines; he writes for Thunderbirds annuals and Doctor Who books (Jealous? Me?) and his latest hardback – The Hunting book 1: Z. Rex – has possibly one of the best covers I’ve seen in years! I can’t wait to read it…
So, whether you’re into dinosaurs, space, or none of the above and just fancy a good giggle – you won’t go far wrong with Astrosaurs.
Tommy
15/09/2009 at 9:41 pm Permalink
it seems as though your stuck deciding which age books to recomend
i am 14 and reading gone
and my 8 year old brother saw astrosurs and said “bit young for you isn’t it?” mind you he wants to read theseries now
maybe you could put an age recommendation?
16/09/2009 at 9:40 am Permalink
Hi Scott
We recommend books for all different ages – just like we write books for different ages. My Scream Street books are primarily for younger readers while Sam’s novels are more suited to teenagers.
The great thing about books, however, is that you can read anything that you enjoy – and putting an age recommendation on the reviews might stop people trying something new, which we’d never want.
16/09/2009 at 12:00 pm Permalink
I’ve only read the first two Astrosaurs books but I loved them, and I’m 35.
Scott: speaking for myself (though I think Tommy will agree) my whole policy is that I recommend anything that I think is brilliant. That’s it. Considerations like how old or young someone ‘should’ (supposedly) be just don’t enter into it. The only question is, ‘Do I think it’s brilliant?’
Also, just because I recommend something, that doesn’t mean that I expect everyone else in the world will definitely like it. All it means is that I like it, so I hope people will try it for themselves and (again: I hope-!) enjoy it as much as I did.
What you think of a book is entirely up to you: you alone. And certainly not your younger brother! ;p
16/09/2009 at 12:06 pm Permalink
I beat Sam on that one – I’m 41, and I like Astrosaurs, too!
Picking up a book because it’s supposed to be the right one to read for your age will always be very hit and miss. Instead – look at the cover, read the text on the back and flick through to couple of random passages. If you’re able to read the paragraphs you settle on and like the sound of the story and characters – go for it! Don’t worry whether the book was written for someone younger!
16/09/2009 at 12:17 pm Permalink
That’s a great tip, Tommy. Whenever I’m first checking out a book and deciding whether to read it (or not!) I use the Random Sentence Test all the time.
16/09/2009 at 6:37 pm Permalink
i understand now and theres also the fact that young people may come on here