Ants in Space is a pleasant illustrated science-fiction book for children 8-12 year olds, which entertains and yet at the same time informs about serious environmental problems. The light and clear tone means it can also be happily enjoyed by adults reading to children.

When Lara and Eva first try to have a conversation with alien ant Kweezy Capolza, they have no idea that they might find themselves transported away from their Mum on a trip to learn about taking care of the environment and all living creatures. They will learn that even doing small things can contribute to helping, like finding non-stick pots.

I was convinced children would understand the message, much as I did. I liked how Kweezy took things literally, like the girls' names when they weren't saying their names, and when the girls say "Two suns, how cool is that?". Taking things literally is sometimes a common trait of aliens visiting earthlings, and ironically those on the autistic spectrum. It could be to do with difficulties in language processing, so this does make sense.

There are some neat ideas in Ants in Space, some of which can easily referenced to current technology such as similar mini mobile-phone devices. There were some new ideas as well like shrinking devices, being simple and yet effective for children to understand. The ants’ antennae curl up in happiness or flop down in sadness, which I felt was a good way for the children to understand what the ants were feeling and to sympathise with them.