Mickey Moonbeam

by Mike Brownlow

Mickey Moonbeam can hardly wait for his pen pal Quiggle to visit for the very first time. Quiggle lives on a planet far away, and the two friends have never met. But when Quiggle crash-lands on an asteroid, it's Mickey who answers his distress call, jumping into his trusty rocket and blasting off to help. There's just one problem. When Mickey lands his spaceship and begins to look around, Quiggle is no where in sight…or is he? Bold, graphic illustrations set the stage for an adventurous story about a galactic rescue only a pint-sized hero could manage.

Genres: Space, Childrens, Picture Books, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mickey is excited. Quiggle is finally coming for a visit, but a distress call from his friend leads him to a nearby asteroid on a rescue mission. The problem is, when Mickey gets to the asteroid, he can't find his Quiggle anywhere. Turns out, Mickey and Quiggle have never met in person--only on video-phone. Turns out, locating his friend isn't the only problem Mickey needs to solve.

I used this book in my lesson with 2nd grade genre lesson. Lots of good synonyms for the word "big" make for a fun discussion of synonyms and antonyms. The illustrations were vivid and engaging and easy for my students to see, whether in the front row or the back row--and that counts for a lot in a read-aloud setting!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, colorful illustrations and a sweet story of friendship despite differences, this is a great group read aloud.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mickey and Quiggle are pen pals who meet under dire circumstances as Quiggle's space scooter has broken on an asteroid. Mickey goes to his rescue only to discover that it isn't going to be as easy as he thought since Quiggle is a giant compared to him----or perhaps it is that Mickey is just a really really tiny space kid. Not giving in to this obstacle, Mickey uses his head to figure out a solution that will save Quiggle. The end finds us at the start of a very wonderful moving beyond pen pals friendship. We used it as an aid in our study of space and found it to be enjoyable.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mickey Moonbeam is a nice story. At the beginning, things seem normal for a kid living in Moonbeam City,...until Mickey receives a distress call from his pen pal who was going to come visit. After going to save Quiggle (Mickey's pen pal), Mickey discovers that friends come in all shapes and sizes.

Mickey Moonbeam made me smile with the friendship developed between the two young'uns. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful and really capture space as one would imagine it as a child. A great book for any young space child. =)

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, colorful illustrations made me smile! The text was a bit dull but the story is one that should entertain young readers (especially fans of aliens and space ships!) When Mickey and his alien pen-pal meet for the first time, they receive a bit of a surprise! A good little message about preconceived notions and coming to accept when someone is different than you expected him to be!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mickey Moonbeam gets a distress call from his vid-pal, Quiggle, who lives on another planet. Mickey goes to investigate, even though they've never met each other. Mickey gets a lesson in perspective and ends up fixing Quiggle's ship. If I read this book to my students, I would point out the fact that Mickey was much smaller than Quiggle and that is a lesson in perspective.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little story of two outer space kids who develop a friendship long-distance. One decides to visit the other, but gets stranded on an asteroid along the way. Mickey springs into action to save his friend. He quickly learns about how everything is relative in space, especially when it comes to size.

Cute illustrations.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not possessing the snazzy rhymes, breaktaking art or other catchy aspects that help create a good readaloud for a large audience, this title was sufficiently fun to read to my small audience. They enjoyed the friendship, problem-solving and teamwork shown in this story.

[Kasmarine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good story about friendship
It teaches the young readers to stand by their friends and help each other in time of difficulties
I think I would like to use this to introduce my lesson about the moon.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great find for mature pre-school students and elementary school students. Illustrations are fun and boys will love this pick.

Picture Book

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful book that brings on the spirit of Calvin and Hobbes's 'Spaceman Spiff' (in a positive way) and on how things are not what they always seem to be.

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about space. My favorite part is when Mickey travels to the asteroid in his rocket. I love the pictures, too.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

i did not think this book was that great at all, but Cole kept wanting to read it over and over.. that is the only reason for 4 stars.

[Tyler Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep, social commentary on meeting people on the internet

[Lynda Pires · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little story and pictures get a smile, but definitely a library book, not a keeping book.