• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

“Details about the space station come alive as the story unfolds. A fun read and the 27 chapters move along at a quick pace. A perfect addition to the middle grade shelves.” — Greg Pattridge, Always in the Middle…

A spot on the International Space Station (ISS) has opened up, and Mortimer, is not about to miss his chance to become an intergalactic space rat. And that’s just the first step in his master plan to prove that rats are much better suited than humans for a future mission to Mars. He packs his camera and prepares to take to the internet with his evidence of rat superiority.

But when Mortimer’s schemes go awry, he is forced to face new truths about dreams, friendship, and choosing the right thing to do. Maybe not everything is a rat race.

Joan Marie Galat
lives in the Alberta countryside near Edmonton, where she can often be found gazing upwards. She shares her love of the sky in the Dot to Dot in the Sky series, which offers both science and stories from ancient cultures about our environment and the night sky.

Joan's writing career began with a weekly newspaper column when she was 12 years old. Now an award-winning and best-selling author, she has written more than a dozen books for both children and adults. She provides freelance writing and editing through her communications business, MoonDot Media, and is a frequent presenter at schools and libraries.

While Alberta's long winter nights and big prairie sky are ideal for stargazing, Joan also enjoys other pastimes such as reading, camping, kayaking, spending time outdoors, and even stiltwalking. She likes to travel and picnic, which led to her book Day Trips from Edmonton.

Joan Marie Galat's profile page

• Nominated, Red Cedar Book Award

“This book definitely is full of fiction from the talking rats to having Mortimer use YouTube! The author made it fun to read and it's easy to follow along with the story.”

American Mensa

“It’s a beautiful combination of storytelling and non-fiction. Joan Marie Galat seamlessly integrates so much fascinating information about astronauts and the ISS while telling an engaging story about a determined little lab rat.”

Storytime with Stephanie via Instagram

“A fun, fast-paced adventure, perfect for kids who love animals or outer space.”

L.E. Carmichael, author of <i>How Do Video Games Work?</i> and <i>The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Biome</i>

“Details about the space station come alive as the story unfolds. A fun read and the 27 chapters move along at a quick pace. A perfect addition to the middle grade shelves.”

Always in the Middle…

“An absolutely charming adventure. Fans of The Secret of NIMH will love this!”

Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of <i>Far-Seer</i>

“Mortimer’s adventures provide an exciting and funny story for readers to follow along. With a narrator like Mortimer, readers are never bored and are always laughing at his jokes and pranks. Galat has written a story with an extremely loveable nar-rat-tor, a character readers will remember for a long time to come.” Highly Recommended.

CM Magazine