Harvey Drew and the Bling Bots

Harvey Drew and the Bling Bots by Cas Lester, illustrator Sam Hearn (Hot Key Books)
PB RRP $12.95
ISBN 978-1-4714-0248-7
Reviewed by Jacque Duffy

 This is a very clever follow-up to Harvey Drew and the Bin Men from Outer Space,

perfect for boys age 7 -10, and chocker-block full of writing to induce belly-aching laughter.

 Thanks to the cover illustration I was reaching for this book wanting to know more about the boy running from the aliens. Speaking of aliens, the narrator in the story worked very hard to keep the reader up to date with space information in a, “If you don’t want to know more about… stop reading now”, kind of way -- very funny indeed. The narrator constantly teases the reader and keeps the story flowing.

Harvey is the captain of the Toxic Spew, a garbage-collecting spaceship in Galaxy 43b. He has no experience of being a ship’s captain as he is an Earthling and only 10 years old. He and his crew of strange, yet wonderfully portrayed … umm… people face challenges not every human child would ever encounter but could easily relate to.

The layout of the book is clean and easy to follow. Hearn’s illustrations are a big part of the book and keep the story flowing nicely giving affirmation to the younger reader who may be a little unsure. Each black and white illustration is strong and appears to be full of life and colour.

 This story is completely entertaining yet supports real life problems .i.e. space trash. Lester has included an interesting interview with a space specialist in regards to the clean-up operation being undertaken to remove space trash.

Young readers will enjoy this book.

Jacque Duffy is the author and illustrator of the series ‘That’s not a …” learn to read books used in all Queensland State Primary Schools, The Bear Said Please picture book and one local history coffee table book.

www.jacquesartandbooks.com