Hello, Nebulon! (Galaxy Zack #1)

by Ray O'Ryan (Author) Colin Jack (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Galaxy Zack

Get to know Galaxy Zack--and his new home planet!--in this start to an out-of-this-world illustrated chapter book series.

In Hello, Nebulon!, Zack makes the big move from Earth. He is already nervous about starting school and making new friends, but it only gets worse when he dreams that his classmates are slimy aliens with tentacles, pizza comes covered in gross bugs, and he can never communicate with his Earth friends again! Fortunately, when Zack arrives at Sprockets Academy for his first day of school, he meets and befriends Drake Tucker, a Nebulite boy who also loves to explore and learn about the planets. Nebulon isn't as awful as Zack's dream, but there are a lot of differences between Nebulon and Earth, and they make Zack miss his home in Dubbsville, Texas, even more. But things start to look up when he receives a mysterious surprise. What could it possibly be?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Galaxy Zack chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

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Publishers Weekly

In the lively first title in the Galaxy Zack series, set in 2120, Zack is unhappy about moving from Earth to Nebulon for his father's job. Soaring to their new planet in the family space cruiser, the eight-year-old thinks about how much he'll miss his best friend, and has nightmares that his new classmates are monstrous aliens and that Nebulite pizza is topped with worms and "extra-moldy cheese." Yet he's impressed--as will be readers--by the planet's gadgetry: cars and bikes zip through the air, and a sideways-moving elevator transports the family through their house. An invisible, talking computer tends to their every need, and Jack's bed drops from a ceiling panel, as does food that lands on the family's floating dinner table. Illustrator Jack's (Toads on Toast) Jetsons-meets-Johnny Neutron illustrations, which appear on every page, energize the story and make its fun, futuristic details all the easier to envision, while O'Ryan's trim sentences and brisk dialogue are well targeted at beginning readers. A second book, Journey to Juno, is available simultaneously, and four additional titles will arrive later in the year. Ages 5-7. (Apr.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--Students will blast into the future with these exciting books. Moving is hard enough for an eight-year-old boy, but moving to another planet is a cosmic challenge. Zack Nelson's father has accepted a great new job, but it is on the planet Nebulon. Sure, Zack has visited Mars and Venus lots of times, but this is different. His imagination gets the better of him as he dreams of slimy alien classmates that he won't relate to and food that is simply gross. Yet his biggest worry is that he will never be able to communicate with his friends on Earth again. He faces his fears and bravely embraces his new lifestyle. In Juno, Zack is paired with the class bully during a field trip and learns something about himself and Seth. Students will gravitate toward Zack and relate to his concerns and experiences, especially those who have faced a move. The intergalactic setting and futuristic gadgets will keep youngsters enthralled as they delve into reading chapter books on their own. Parents will also enjoy them as read-alouds because the stories are reminiscent of all of the technological advances of the future that they dreamed of and were introduced to by the Jetsons, Star Trek, and other 20th-century hits. On every page, large, gray-scale illustrations add humor and interest to the crisp, clear texts. These fantastically fun titles will add diversity to any collection and will appeal to boys and girls alike.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Ray O'Ryan
Ray O'Ryan has loved space stories ever since he watched the very first episode of Star Trek. He loves to imagine what traveling across the galaxy might be like and is a bit jealous of Galaxy Zack in this regard.

Colin Jack is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and has illustrated several children's books. He currently works at DreamWorks Animation as a story artist and character designer and lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two sons.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781442453869
Lexile Measure
580
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little Simon
Publication date
April 02, 2013
Series
Galaxy Zack
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV053000 - Juvenile Fiction | Science Fiction
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV045000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Chapter Books
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Human-alien encounters
Science fiction
Moving, Household

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