Buckle up, space enthusiasts and comedy lovers, we are going on an out of this world journey with the silliest simian in the galaxy, Chump the chimpanzee! Astrochimp, by David Walliams and illustrated by Adam Stower, is a hilarious space adventure in a colourful comic book style. If it can go wrong, it will, especially with the blundering Chump involved. So bananas at the ready, let’s take a journey through the stars with Astrochimp in this cosmic comic book adventure for children (and adults that like to read about animals in space).
Chump the chimp isn’t the brightest star in the universe but he has been selected by NASA for a top-secret space mission to orbit the Earth and test the feasibility of human space travel. He’s isn’t the first animal in space, it all started in 1947 with some fruit flies (true story), followed by Dmitri the dog, Bardot the cool cat, Ting and Hong the tortoises and Choti the Gerbil. This is the story of what happens next.
Chump is like no other chimp. He loves to make rude noise from BOTH ENDS, picks his nose with his feet, eats banana skins rather than the succulent banana itself and is extremely clumsy. With the mission going well, he accidently presses a button he shouldn’t and it all goes terribly wrong, freezing himself in deep space for the next fifty years, until he is rudely awakened by a space pirate.
With Dmitri the dog, the rogue space pirate, trying to rob Chump’s spaceship, everything goes from bad to worse and is the start of an Earth-saving adventure.
With Chump teaming up with Dmitri and Bardot, the jet-pack wearing cat, trying to defeat super-intelligent super-sized giant fruit flies and an mysterious object on a collision course with Earth, readers of all ages are treated to a hilarious space opera that’s as funny as it is far-fetched.
Overall, Astrochimp is a hilarious graphic novel, a space adventure packed with mayhem, mischief and laughter. A very imaginative tale based on some very real animals that have been blasted into space.
The story is absurd, over the top and great fun; it will completely engage its young readers with its funny short text and fantastic illustrations.
The book is in a comic book style, a graphic novel rather than a comic or picture book, with colourful pages. As it has a comic book format, illustrations feature heavily on every page and are excellent, bringing the colourful chaos to life in vivid detail. An excellent funny book with easy to read “episodes” for avid readers and the comic book style makes it perfect for reluctant readers. With 224 full colour illustrated pages it is a quick read.
Readers will love the colourful, weird and wacky characters, ginormous floating pineapples that have been transformed into spaceships, revenge and rescues and laughter on every page.
A truly captivating out of this world fun story for children age 6+.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £14.99 (Hardback – currently £7.49) / £8.99 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.worldofdavidwalliams.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
