Tate Tuber, Space Spud

PreS-Gr 3–Tate might be just a little potato, but he dreams of becoming an astronaut. Tate uses all his ingenuity and determination to make it through space training, but once in space, he learns he’s part of a farming experiment and makes five more duplicate Tates. The crew, overwhelmed with the Tates’ enthusiasm, banishes them to the space lab galley, smashing their hopes. But when the space station is in trouble, the Tates pull together and use their potato power to save the day. This graphic early reader is sure to please young ones who will root for this enthusiastic spud. Text is a combination of speech bubbles and caption boxes with simple language for developing readers. Illustrations use light and shading to good advantage and have wonderfully expressive and diverse characters. There will be peals of laughter as readers take in all the antics like waking the human astronauts and “helping” the crew with their daily duties. The Tates are rewarded with the title of Astronauts, their own space suits, and a spaceship of their own, perfect for more adventures.