• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Pursued by government agents and angry aliens, Dalen and Gole are in a race against time to save both their own distant world and the fishing community of Port Angus.

With seconds to the finish line, Dalen and Gole lead the distant world of Budap's annual Junior-Jet Race. Suddenly they are overtaken. Left behind in a cloud of mysterious purple exhaust, they realize something doesn't add up. Looking for clues, the two friends uncover a tunnel that leads them to Earth. They arrive in Port Angus, once a lively west coast fishing community. The fishing industry is dying, and Dalen and Gole find themselves embroiled in a sinister plot to steal fish and send them to Budap.

 

Mike Deas est auteur-illustrateur de bandes dessinées, telles que Tank and Fizz and The Case of the Tentacle Terror. Il signe aussi les illustrations de la série Graphic Guide Adventure. Sa passion pour l'illustration a été entretenue tout au long de son enfance à l'île Saltspring, en Colombie-Britannique où il habite encore aujourd'hui.

 

MIKE DEAS is an author/illustrator of graphic novels, most recently Tank and Fizz and the Case of the Tentacle Terror. He is the illustrator of the Graphic Guide Adventure series. His love for illustrative storytelling comes from an early love of reading and drawing while growing up on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Visit him online at www.deasillustration.com.

Mike Deas' profile page

• Nominated, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Award
• Short-listed, BC and Yukon Book Prizes - Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
• Short-listed, Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books

"I enjoyed the environmental message woven into Deas’s bright comics...The key to the alien alphabet found at the end sent me back through the story to decode various signs that I couldn’t read on my first pass."

Unshelved book blog

"The full-colour illustrations would be very much at home in Saturday morning cartoons, with goofy Everycreature protagonists and doofus-styled bad guys...An amiable romp, and a bonus spread of the Budapian alphabet and its English equivalent will give code enthusiasts a new method of secure encryption for classroom note-passing."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A fast-paced...fun romp about strangers in a strange land...Budap's residents resemble human-toad hybrids with snail-like eyes. Visually, they are immediately endearing...An entertaining and charming book."

Quill & Quire

"Deas' experience as an illustrator enables him to understand the importance of the interplay of the text and illustrations. He does not rely on the text to tell the story; indeed, many panels rely solely on the detailed facial expressions and actions of his characters to forward his tale. The simple backgrounds are also helpful in establishing the setting and mood of the plot. As a result, his graphic novel is extremely accessible to emerging and struggling readers...Deas has created two likeable and interesting characters whose personal quirks are well used in the development of the plot...The mystery, interlaced with action and humour, will appeal to the graphic novel fan."

CM Magazine

"Young readers, struggling readers, and any readers of conscience will love this adventure and look forward to more. The end pages show alien jet schematics and Budap's alphabet. The author's website is not to be missed!"

Library Media Connection

"A crisp, clear comic romp about two alien friends who uncover a gently sinister scheme that could destroy both their home planet and a small fishing town on Earth...Deas’ art has a clarion brightness and is tidily paneled across the page...Squeaky-clean, good fun."

Kirkus Reviews

"Deas, illustrator of the six-volume Graphic Guide Adventure series, makes his debut as an author and illustrator here and provides solid graphics, pacing, dialogue, and humor...The rundown of the Budapian alphabet at the end is a particularly nice touch, and it allows readers to spin back through and translate the many signs sprinkled throughout the book. A fun mystery-adventure that's just right for young space cases."

Booklist

"Speaks to its audience and provides a hook, through format, to lure boys into reading fiction. The colourful comics and alien creature main-characters...are designed to whet the young male appetite and to keep him reading...A fabulous recreational read as well as a strong spring board for teaching cartooning and creating graphic stories, characterization and using the imagination in storytelling."

Resource Links

"The artwork...has a muted, evocative palette, expressive character work, and energetic chase sequences. Deas makes effective use of sound effects and asymmetrical panel boundaries to enhance the most dramatic moments."

School Library Journal