Pluto Rocket: Over the Moon

by Paul Gilligan

Pluto Rocket and Joe Pidge jet off to the moon (and beyond!) in the fourth book of this hilarious early novel series, for fans of Narwhal and Jelly and Pizza and Taco!

Joe Pidge, king of the neighborhood, and Pluto Rocket, an alien who's new in town, have left Earth for the moon in order to convince Pluto's three dads that she didn't go to Earth at all. Her dads believe Earthlings aren't nice, so she's banned from visiting. But interstellar hijinks ensue! The two friends accidentally land on an asteroid, thinking it's the moon — and in trying to convince poor Joe that outer space isn't scary, Pluto ends up breaking the asteroid in two!

Later, the duo meet the lone resident of the moon, Moon Man Moe, who is obsessed with golf and fulfilling his dream of landing a hole in one . . . in a moon crater. And finally, when Pluto's dads arrive, the gang has to convince them that Earthlings are, in fact, nice — but an unexpected visitor, a certain orange rabbit, causes a world of trouble in the fourth book of this hilarious series by Paul Gilligan, creator of the syndicated comic strip Pooch Café!

Genres: Graphic Novels

104 pages, Hardcover

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

Paul Gilligan writes and draws the syndicated comic strip Pooch Café, which has been twice nominated by the National Cartoonist Society for best strip. He’s the author/illustrator of the early-reader graphic novel series Pluto Rocket, the chapter book series King of the Mole People, and the graphic memoir Boy Vs. Shark. He lives in Toronto with his wife and kids, where he still rides his bike, and quite comfortably swims in lakes and pools, as long as nobody makes any “du-nuh” sounds.

Reviews

[Lindsay McDella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️

This was a cute book! The friendship between Joe Pidge and Pluto Rocket has great messaging for kids! The humour is awesome, and I absolutely LOVE that the book is inclusive (Pluto Rocket’s parents are 3 dads - LOVE that)!!

For the first little bit of the book, I was a little lost as to what the messaging of the book was supposed to be - if any - and the way Pluto Rocket talks just bothered me. But about 1/3 of the way in is when some messaging started coming in like: everyone has niceness inside them, don’t lie, you don’t need things to be happy just the people that make you happy, and you travel to new places for the differences not similarities!

I would recommend this to the kids I work with. My kids also really enjoyed this book and asked me to get books 1-3!

[Mindy Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parent/Educator Review: Joe Pidgeon and Pluto Rocket continue their adventure to the moon. They are determined to make it look as though Pluto Rocket made her broadcast from the moon and not Earth (as her three dads would disapprove).

They discover you can make a place feel like home by focusing on who you’re with, not what is missing. Had a nice message about traveling to discover what is different in other areas. Also discusses niceness is likely in everyone.

It started off very funny with galaxy places of interest and the engineering of the rocket ship, but slowed in the middle. But did have grata messages weaved within.

As an educator, I struggled with some of the words, “explores” used as a noun was hard. And wouldn’t recommend for children learning English as a second language.

Review from three kids (ages 3, 6, 8): their favorite part (and illustration) is The Gassy Giants. They laughed and laughed. My daughter (6) also loved the purple colored dad and his taco love in the background. All three kids thought it was funny and all give it a solid 4 stars. Mom is more a 3.5.

Thank you @Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the digital ARC.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
I received an electronic ARC from Tundra Book Group through NetGalley.
Pluto and Joe are back and going in an out of this world adventure. They make it to the moon so they can pretend Pluto has been there the whole time rather than interacting on Earth. His dads are on their way to bring him home. The two will do anything to stay. While on the moon, they have fun teaching the man in the moon to play golf, and encounter an old acquaintance, Jelly Bob. The humor never stops for elementary level readers. Sweet ending as the friends will get to stay together - just not where they expected to. I love the message behind one of the dads insisting his planet is the only planet until he has to accept others are special too.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel with bright colors and quirky characters was perfect for my 8 y.o. and 9 y.o. as a read-aloud book. They definitely could have read this on their own, too. My kids laughed at the silly dialog and were repeating some of the lines afterwards, making each other giggle.

Personally, I enjoyed the sweetness of Pluto's character and the illustrations. The messages within are especially good... understanding and embracing differences, telling the truth, helping others, and friendship.

I'll pick up a copy of the first 3 Pluto Rocket books so I can share with my kids.

[I was gifted an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.]

[Sharon Tacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the Moon is another in the quirky graphic novel series, Pluto Rocket. Who knew tacos are both a magically delicious food and also rocket fuel? Joe Pidge and Pluto are great friends even when they make bad decisions. Kids will love the simple illustrations and hilarious semi-gibberish dialogue.
#ReadTundra

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and fun continuation of the adventures and friendship of Joe Pidge and Pluto Rocket. Pluto is trying to hide from his parents by taking his friend to the moon, where they find a golf-playing denizen and confront an old nemesis from Earth. A funny and fun story.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc Copy...fist dive into the world of "Pluto Rocket" but I can very much see would appeal to readers of mad cap friendship pairings like "Bird and Squirrel", and so forth.