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Mungo and the Spiders from Space
When the pages of his comic book are ripped out and he is suddenly pulled inside the book itself, Mungo has to use all his courage and wit to beat Dr. Frankenstinker at his own game in order to get back home safely.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Knapman
211 books31 followersTimothy Knapman has written many books for children, including Mungo and the Picture Book Pirates, Dinosaurs in the Supermarket and Eleanor's Eyebrows. He also writes plays and co-writes musicals.
Timothy Knapman is available in a range of colours, and is washable.
Timothy Knapman is available in a range of colours, and is washable.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 3, 2013
10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…lift off! Mungo and the Spider’s from Space is a fantastic read. It explores the adventure of young Mungo who’s got a new comic book which his mother bought for him. Even though it’s used, ripped and torn his mother knew that he’d love it. That very night he asks her to read it to him and she agrees. He takes an instant interest in the comic and is thoroughly enjoying the read until he realises that some of the pages are missing, unfortunately they've been ripped out. However, this doesn't stop the fun filled space adventure from continuing as Mungo finds himself being sucked into the book! Crazy!
Can pyjama wearing Mungo help Captain Galacticus of Star Squadron and his robotic sidekick, Gizmo, help defeat the evil Doctor Frankenstinker? In their attempt to take the Gobblebeasts to the space prison, Captain Galacticus finds himself trapped and tangled in a giant spider web. After much dismay, they all realise that the giant webs have been created by huge robot spiders which were created and are controlled by the evil Doctor Frankenstinker. Will Mungo manage to defeat the evil Doctor and save the day? How will the story end…will it be back in Mungo’s bedroom where it began with Mungo simply reading his new comic?
Mungo and the Spiders from Space is a truly amusing and brilliant read. It’s a book that will appeal to most boys who love a combination of rockets, robots and comics. A great amount of enjoyment is felt when this book is read aloud to a child and even jokes for the adults reading it. The illustrations used are phenomenal and are extremely successful at portraying Mungo’s space adventure. The illustrations look aged and torn which further add to Mungo’s reality and almost adding a sense of magic to the child reading the book. Children are given the urge to feel as though they themselves are being sucked into Mungo’s crazy space adventure. I think this is a great feature of the book as it plays with children’s imagination and allows creative thinking.
I think it is a rare comic picture book because of its layout which is a fantastic feature of the book. The comic can be explored by children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage One. Even children within the EYFS of the curriculum can be left to explore the book alone. The fact that they may not necessarily be able to read it isn't a problem because the illustrations are so powerful. Some individuals who have explored the book may then re-enact the story in the role-play area of the classroom. The same could be said for children in the earlier stages of the key stage one age phase.
The story is great when read aloud both in the classroom setting and whilst at home. The reader will find themselves getting really engaged and involved in the story, whether they’re an adult or a small child. It would be a good space adventure to read aloud to a class and to then engage them on a literacy task.
The illustrations are extremely bright and powerful and therefore really get children’s imaginations going. Children could be asked to recreate the story through their own imaginary adventures in space. A cross-curricular approach could be used with Art. After children have completed the literacy task they could put their imaginative ideas into a creative task. They could make their own space rockets exploring different artistic mediums, such as charcoal, oil pastels, pencils and graphite.
Overall, it’s a fantastic reads which creates much fun and laughter!
Can pyjama wearing Mungo help Captain Galacticus of Star Squadron and his robotic sidekick, Gizmo, help defeat the evil Doctor Frankenstinker? In their attempt to take the Gobblebeasts to the space prison, Captain Galacticus finds himself trapped and tangled in a giant spider web. After much dismay, they all realise that the giant webs have been created by huge robot spiders which were created and are controlled by the evil Doctor Frankenstinker. Will Mungo manage to defeat the evil Doctor and save the day? How will the story end…will it be back in Mungo’s bedroom where it began with Mungo simply reading his new comic?
Mungo and the Spiders from Space is a truly amusing and brilliant read. It’s a book that will appeal to most boys who love a combination of rockets, robots and comics. A great amount of enjoyment is felt when this book is read aloud to a child and even jokes for the adults reading it. The illustrations used are phenomenal and are extremely successful at portraying Mungo’s space adventure. The illustrations look aged and torn which further add to Mungo’s reality and almost adding a sense of magic to the child reading the book. Children are given the urge to feel as though they themselves are being sucked into Mungo’s crazy space adventure. I think this is a great feature of the book as it plays with children’s imagination and allows creative thinking.
I think it is a rare comic picture book because of its layout which is a fantastic feature of the book. The comic can be explored by children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage One. Even children within the EYFS of the curriculum can be left to explore the book alone. The fact that they may not necessarily be able to read it isn't a problem because the illustrations are so powerful. Some individuals who have explored the book may then re-enact the story in the role-play area of the classroom. The same could be said for children in the earlier stages of the key stage one age phase.
The story is great when read aloud both in the classroom setting and whilst at home. The reader will find themselves getting really engaged and involved in the story, whether they’re an adult or a small child. It would be a good space adventure to read aloud to a class and to then engage them on a literacy task.
The illustrations are extremely bright and powerful and therefore really get children’s imaginations going. Children could be asked to recreate the story through their own imaginary adventures in space. A cross-curricular approach could be used with Art. After children have completed the literacy task they could put their imaginative ideas into a creative task. They could make their own space rockets exploring different artistic mediums, such as charcoal, oil pastels, pencils and graphite.
Overall, it’s a fantastic reads which creates much fun and laughter!
May 13, 2017
How do you finish a book that has the last page ripped out? You let yourself get 'sucked' into the story and finish it yourself! Great book that will help children focus their imagination.
March 17, 2009
Mungo has just gotten a new comic book. It’s used, battered and torn but his mother knew he would love it. So when he asks to have it read to him that very night, she agrees. The story is about Captain Galacticus of Star Squadron and his robotic sidekick, Gizmo. They are taking the Gobblebeast to the space prison when they are caught in a giant spider web. A spider web created by giant robot spiders that are controlled and created by Dr. Frankenstinker. When Captain Galacticus is trapped by the evil Dr and his army of spiders, Mungo discovers that the final page of his comic is torn out! What is a boy to do when a story suddenly ends?
Filled with over-the-top zaniness and pure B-movie fun, this book will appeal to most boys who enjoy rockets, robots and comics. Even better, this book takes all of those and makes a single great story of it. There is just the right amount of danger for a preschool and elementary audience, just the right amount of laughs, and even some jokes for the parent reading it aloud. The illustrations are very successful with Mungo’s reality being slightly blurred and soft and the interior of the comic book filled with crisp lines and bright colors. When the comic book is being read, the outlines of the illustrations look aged and torn, adding to the feeling of reading the same comic Mungo is. Add a great dash of magic, and the book comes together with a satisfying ending.
This is one of the rare comic-book format picture books that will work to read with a group of children. With its mix of popular boy-friendly subjects, this book is sure to be a galactic-sized hit at your library.
Filled with over-the-top zaniness and pure B-movie fun, this book will appeal to most boys who enjoy rockets, robots and comics. Even better, this book takes all of those and makes a single great story of it. There is just the right amount of danger for a preschool and elementary audience, just the right amount of laughs, and even some jokes for the parent reading it aloud. The illustrations are very successful with Mungo’s reality being slightly blurred and soft and the interior of the comic book filled with crisp lines and bright colors. When the comic book is being read, the outlines of the illustrations look aged and torn, adding to the feeling of reading the same comic Mungo is. Add a great dash of magic, and the book comes together with a satisfying ending.
This is one of the rare comic-book format picture books that will work to read with a group of children. With its mix of popular boy-friendly subjects, this book is sure to be a galactic-sized hit at your library.
Read
February 11, 2011I'm beginning to recognize the complexity of picture books. This one emulates the style of a comic book and is recommended in Teaching Visual Literacy as a means of focusing on the visual structure of the narrative. It has a very silly, colorful to it.
October 21, 2012
Attention grabing picturebook about a boy who gets swept into his own story. The art in this part traditional part comic book story is great. My reluctant reader little brother has read it to everyone in the house!
January 16, 2016
A good children's picture book romp. The story of a boy, whose Mum buys a secomdhand taty copy of a space adventure and the climax is missing so he makes it up and has an exciting adventure himself. Beautiful illustrations by Adam Stower
December 5, 2009
Having a six year old boy, I have to give this a big thumbs up. I anticipate the shared glee in reading this one tonight.
Superhero story with a all the trimmings...
Superhero story with a all the trimmings...
February 13, 2010
This is an excellent book for practicing your reading-out-loud robot, super-hero, and super-villian voices. A bit hit with both the 3 and the 6 year old.
January 9, 2014
This book was so much fun! I loved the language, and how they incorporated comic style panels and phrasing.
January 25, 2013
that was amazing how did you make it wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooo
August 21, 2013
This is the best freaking book! I totally got it for my reading pleasure and not for Warren in the least bit. Why? Dr. Frankenstinker. That's all the reason you need. Get this damn book!
August 11, 2014
my little boy loved this. we read it over and over. the pictures are very detailed and fun for the little ones to examine
May 23, 2015
This is an exciting comic/picture book adventure through space that kids will love! A fantastic read aloud where readers can showcase their voice changeup skills to add to the fun. Loved it!
February 8, 2018
A fun book about space!
Lots of descriptive words and action words.
In the story the last page is missing so he makes up the rest of the story with his imagination- would be useful for teaching children to write endings of books- have the children finish this exciting story!
Lots of descriptive words and action words.
In the story the last page is missing so he makes up the rest of the story with his imagination- would be useful for teaching children to write endings of books- have the children finish this exciting story!
October 30, 2020
Super fun, meta and excellently illustrated. Fans of Mini Grey will also enjoy this!
September 8, 2021
For very young fans of sci-fi set in outer space, this tale celebrates imagination and books.
September 28, 2009
Athena enjoyed the concept of this book.
May 23, 2015
The pictures are way better than the story. They are reminiscent of Calvin & Hobbes. Fantastic colors and perspectives that bring you right in.
Read
June 15, 2017This book is about a little boy that is reading a comic book that his mom got for him, when he reaches the end of the book, the last page is ripped out. Having to come up with his own ending, he gets sucked into the book and he has to be the one fighting in space.
The little boy learns how to fight in space and beat the bad guys and save the universe with the good guy. The setting takes place in his bedroom and in space. There is a lot of comic book inspired sound effects through out the book. This book might appeal to young kids ranging in 3rd to 5th grade, this is a book that can help them with their imagination, seeing as though the little boy had to come up with his own towards the end. I like how this book shows the little boy coming up with his own ending and that will inspire other little kids.
The little boy learns how to fight in space and beat the bad guys and save the universe with the good guy. The setting takes place in his bedroom and in space. There is a lot of comic book inspired sound effects through out the book. This book might appeal to young kids ranging in 3rd to 5th grade, this is a book that can help them with their imagination, seeing as though the little boy had to come up with his own towards the end. I like how this book shows the little boy coming up with his own ending and that will inspire other little kids.
April 16, 2019
You know what? I wobbled on this one... 4? 5? But it made some of my seventh graders laugh out loud as I read it aloud and I found it super fun to read. It was the picture book in the outer space collection I shared with them and there were giggles all around. It’s a busy book with lots going on in every page, and that would make it fun to explore in a small group. It’s an amazing adventure and the message of writing your own endings/being the hero of your stories is a good one.
Overall, I loved it. And I found it buried in one of the corners of our shelves, so I hope it will go on to have another life after being brought out again.
Overall, I loved it. And I found it buried in one of the corners of our shelves, so I hope it will go on to have another life after being brought out again.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews