Review Detail

THE FRIENDLY FIRECAT is a delightful new read in the Cosmic Creatures series. Charlie and her best friend Random the robot are traveling with her brother, Maki, to visit her Aunt Leticia on the other side of the planet. Just after they arrive, their aunt whisks them off to see something incredible - a whole herd of firecats. Before they can ask too many questions, they see a ship, and Charlie and Random go to investigate, facing some rustlers who are poaching the firecats to sell on other planets.

Charlie and Random find themselves stranded with a baby firecat and a boy from the rustler's ship, learning about what they do and explaining why it is problematic. After a shared night of danger and life-saving, Charlie is captured by the rustlers. Unwilling to give up, she figures out a way off and hopefully a way to save the trapped firecats too.

What I loved: This was quite an exciting adventure with danger in the form of quicksand and capture. The story moves quickly and describes the planet, the rustlers, and the firecats well. Taking place on a world far away, this is a great sci-fi premise that sparks imagination. While this world and creatures are different than our own, the themes are easily translated with messages about respecting nature, poaching, and the importance of home that come across clearly through several conversations. There's an easy, cartoonish villain as well as a happy ending for the main characters involved that will appeal to the intended audience.

The book is written with a large font and illustrations on some (but not all) pages that work well for advancing independent readers. The themes of the story combined with the writing style will work well for early to middle elementary school aged readers.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the illustrations are very sketch-like with light lines that can make them tough to see. While they are quite well done, darker lines would make them more easily visible throughout.

Final verdict: THE FRIENDLY FIRECAT is an engaging sci-fi chapter book that will appeal to readers who love animals, complex themes, and illustrated reads. Highly recommend this series for early to middle elementary school aged readers.