Review by Win Wiacek

These days a wealth of comics and cartoon books are available for the young to cut their milk-teeth on and amongst the most entertaining are those produced by Toon Books.

This particular treat by writer Nadja Spiegelman with artist Trade Loeffler follows the escapades of an alien kid and his AI assistant cutting classes when they should be doing homework.

In space, however, it’s possible for teachers to you down wherever you are, and when an urgent call reminds Zig he has to complete his science project – bringing a pet in to class – he reluctantly lands on the blue-green planet he’s passing and goes hunting for an animal to adopt.

Thus begins a grand odyssey as Zig and his electronic know-it-all pal Wikki interview and pursue a range of earthly creatures for the role, only slightly hampered by the detail that they both are approximately the size of Earth mice. At least they have a shrinking ray with them!

Aimed at 5-and-over age ranges, this splendidly child-sized (236 x162 mm) full-colour landscape format tome is a gloriously evocative, sleekly exciting kid-friendly caper, produced in hardback, paperback and e-book editions. It’s fast-paced, charming and packed with learning content as Wikki’s face-screen provides photos and gloriously gross fun facts about flies, dragonflies, frogs and raccoons, Zig’s quest to bring ‘em back alive is a sweet blend of science and fiction that will keep kids and parents enthralled.

Zig and Wikki’s easy form of education obviously struck a chord as Spiegleman and Loeffler bring them back for more learning in The Cow.