The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Red Giant

Commander Zack Proton

by Brian Anderson, Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)

Like any other genuine intergalactic space hero delivering sixteen million bags of first-class mail to the outer edges of the universe, Commander Zack Proton needed a potty break. But when Zack opened the wrong door and tumbled out of his ship, he found himself all alone in the inky depths of space...until he was picked up by Omega Chimp, the last chimpanzee sent into space. Zack was hoping to be found by a space hero like himself, but a chimp with a banana generator is going to have to do. While searching for his lost ship, Zack and Omega square off with the evilest, nastiest, most horriblest space giant ever to walk the spaceways -- Big Large! Can Zack manage without his decoder ring? Does Omega Chimp have anything useful aboard his ship besides bananas? And how will a hunk of junk that's bigger than a breadbox, smaller than an ostrich, and looks like a chubby fire hydrant save the day?

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jared Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read aloud with our seven year old son. We traded words like death for hurt and dodged a conversation we aren’t ready for yet. It’s hard to keep his attention for a full hour, but he kept an ear out. That’s a great book by our standards.

[Leah Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly space story and a good early chapter book for younger readers. This kept my 7-year-old son’s attention and because we read this aloud as a family, my husband and I both found ourselves laughing a few times at the cheesy jokes. :)

[Dani Shuping · Rating 3 out of 5]

Commander Zack Proton is a genuine intergalactic space hero. He and his team of marauding adventurers travel across the galaxy to deliver the mail to the furthest corners of the universe. And then Zack goes out the wrong door on his way to the bathroom and ends up in the blackness of space all alone...until the Omega Chimp rescues him. Together they head off to find Zack's lost ship and along the way they run into--Big Large! A horrible, huge, red space giant eating planet after planet. Only Zack and Omega Chimp can put a stop to Big Large...but how?

I suspect that you really have to be 10 years old or younger to really get into the book, but it isn't a bad little story. It's got enough to keep a reader interested and see how things turn out, but it has a couple of problems. One major problem for me is that Zack is a bit one dimensional, we just don't get to find out anything about him or why he does what he does. I'd just like to see a little bit more about him (I mean we get to find out the history of the Omega Chimp why not Zack?) And the second problem is that they tried to cram way too much in. Recipes, FAQ's, side tidbits and more. All it really does is distract the reader from being fully engaged in the story. The illustrations are definitely engaging and have enough to keep the reader entertained.

It's a decent start to a book, but I hope they tell us a little bit more about Zack and his history in the following books.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zack was on a voyage to deliver mail to the edge of the universe when he accidentally went out the exit door of his ship. As he floated lost around space, Omega Chimp came upon him and the two have quite an adventure as they deal with a "spacious" bully.

[Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zack fights with banana's!

[Anthony]

I lie it

[Carterkempgmail.Com · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blechh. Too hard for the 2nd graders who'd find it funny, too corny for the 4th graders who can read it.