Earth's moon is being eaten (from the dark side) by moon rats! It's causing big problems for our beloved planet, so the tippy top secret weapon is brought forth...what will soon be the first cat in space! (Very official looking in a space suit!)

While en route, a stowaway is discovered! A lonely (runaway) toenail clipping robot seeking his way in the universe (you would think I'd have it memorized). He's both so friendly and pathetic, that First Cat befriends him. And instantly (maybe not really fast "instantly," but soon) makes an enemy!

The dynamic trio; First Cat, Queen, and robot, bond through harrowing trials and adventures. Putting their lives on the line for their quest and each other--except when the queen was bluffing once (awkward chuckle).

It's an epic tale of heroism, deep longing, and sacrifice, that...WARNING: May amplify the desire for pizza, with delicious melted cheese, and possibly pepperoni (although other toppings would be good too)! Where was I?

This is a funny story; clever and silly as well. It would entertain all ages (although children under the recommended ages 8-12 may not understand some elements). Otherwise, great for all ages! I look forward to the next book!

P.S. This is comic/graphic novel science fiction, so don't ask me how rats are digesting moon rock and dirt. Ask Shawn and Mac.

4/5 Stars

Thanks to Harper Collins Children's Books and NetGalley for the preview in ebook form; the review is voluntary.

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The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza
by Mac Barnett
Pub Date: May 10, 2022
Katherine Tegen Books
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Graphic Novels are a favorite in our library so I was eager to read this book.
New York Times bestselling Mac Barnett and Caldecott Honor award-winning illustrator Shawn Harris turn their massively popular The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza live cartoon into an action-packed and hysterical graphic novel series--perfect for fans of Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier, and Jeff Kinney. A Kids' Indie Next List Pick!

Something terrible is happening in the skies! Rats are eating the MOON!

There's only ONE hero for the job, a bold and fearsome beast bioengineered in a secret lab to be the moon's savior and Earth's last hope! And that hero is . . . a cat. A cat who will be blasted into space!
Great book! We will be purchasing this one. 5 stars

There’s a problem on the moon. Rats are eating all of its cheesy goodness, and there is only one creature on earth who can stop them: The First Cat in Space. Blasting off to the moon, he meets a stowaway that had come aboard his ship: Loz, a toe-nail clipping robot seeking his purpose in the vast universe. When they land on the moon, the Queen of the Moon joins them on their quest to stop the rats from eating her home. Together, they will endure the frozen Land of Frost, a terrifying encounter with the Man in the Moon, tunneling underground, and facing the rats themselves. Through it all, The First Cat in Space is getting hungry, and would like some pizza, please.

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, is hilarious. The characters are goofy, the illustrations add so much to the words, and the story line is crazy fun. I loved the journey that First Cat in Space went on and all the creatures/people he met along the way. Loz is fantastic and so funny. The rats are delightfully evil. My only issue, was that some of the lines got to be a bit repetitive. For instance, when speaking about the Peninsula of Thunder, and there was a crack of thunder, the Moon Queen would say, “How ominous.” This was repeated many times. Other than that, it was a fantastic book that will be a fun for kids and their adults.

(I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are mine.)

What do you get when you take the best-selling author Mac Barnett, the Caldecott Honor award-winning illustrator Shawn Harris, and let them work on a project together while everyone is sheltering in place during 2020? A live-action cartoon featuring the first cat in space, of course! And after the episodes have received thousands of views - the mandate of the people is that the story must be made into a graphic novel of epic adventure! At long last that project is coming to store shelves and online retailers so that we can all enjoy it even when the Internet is down.

After astronomers discover that rats are actually eating the moon, a top secret mission launches the first cat in space to solve the problem. Accompanied by a toenail-clipping robot and the queen of the moon, our intrepid hero must face rats from another galaxy and all the dangers inside their secret base on the dark side of the moon. The hearty adventurers travel through the Land of Frost and the Peninsula of Thunder, meet the man in the moon and a three-headed rat king, and make allies and enemies along the way. But with only three days to save the moon, will they succeed?

Fans of Dog Man, The Flying Beaver Brothers, and similar humorous graphic novels for middle grade readers will have a new favorite book to read and talk over with friends. The commander at Earth's Hexagon (military headquarters) comes up with silly phrases such as, "Oh my grammy's meat loaf" or "Oh my wrinkly pinkie toe" and his assistant Dr.Milksop always says, "My thoughts exactly, sir." His outbursts remind me of Stone Rabbit exclaiming, "Crud monkeys!"

Once readers reach the end of the book, they may enjoy having a watch party of the live cartoon episodes to see where the story began. And there are hints that a second book may happen. "Oh my mama llama."

Two award-winning kidlit powerhouses come together for a laugh-out-loud tale about a cat, a toenail-clipping robot, and a group of hungry rats posed to devour the moon. Rats from another galaxy are eating the moon! What is the Earth to do? Dispatch a cybernetically enhanced cat - First Cat - to take care of business. Accompanied by a stowaway robot who believes he's destined for greater things than clipping toenails, and a ship's computer who's furious at being upstaged from a larger part in the story, First Cat lands on the moon, and the adventure begins: frozen wastelands, living forests, churning waters (Sea of Tranqulity? HA!) and dangers at every turn. There are repeating gags that get funnier with every utterance, and readers will giggle themselves silly as First Cat tries, time and again, to have a mouth-watering slice of pizza. Artwork is boldly outlined and colorful, hilariously communicating the madcap storytelling.


Did you know First Cat is Instagram famous? Kids can watch First Cat's live adventures on Instagram or the First Cat webpage, where they can also sign up for the newsletter! The graphic novel includes sheet music and links to songs from the series. The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza is perfect for summer reading your readers will love.

Mac Barrett's new graphic novel series The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza is sure to be a winner with fans of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. The combination of Mac Barrett's humor with the delightful graphic illustrations will appeal to a wide age range of readers. I'm ordering this book right now because I am sure it will fly off the shelves in the library. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC. I laughed throughout the reading and couldn't put it down.

First of all, thanks to netgalley and HarperCollins for a digital ARC of this book, which I shared with my 8 year old twins. They are writing the majority of this review. So, from the mom side of our shared reading, I want you to know that my 8yo twins LOVE Mac Barnett, and this book was no exception. They cackled together over it, recited it eagerly back to me, and talked about it for days afterwards.

And here's what they said when I asked them for their review of it:

I want to recommended to People who like adventure stories, cats, and pizza. It has a lot of excitement and hilarity. It’s about a cat, a stowaway robot who clips toenails, and the moon Queen going on a quest to save the moon from evil rats who are eating it. The art style is good, really good. It looks like a kid who is really good at drawing drew it, with great cartoony style.

The moral of the story is that someone will always take your place. What? It's true. it's a fact.

Cats, robots, space, and pizza. What else could you want?

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza was a cute and funny graphic novel with a target audience of 8-12 year olds. I think this would be great for a classroom book or even for the young graphic novel lover in your life. There were some funny references in the book for older readers and I think a lot of ironic humor sprinkled in for young readers.

The graphic novel is around 315 pages long so it will probably last a younger reader a few days. With how the chapters are broken they serve almost as mini stories that I think will help that younger audience stay interested and wanting to see how it ends. Depending on the child, I could see kids around that 8 year old and under marker getting a little confused with the storyline but if that's the case, I think it could be a really fun book to read together with them and work on comprehension.

Honest review from my 9 year old.

I liked the pictures and illustrations, but I lost track of what was going on in the story.

My kids loved this book. I am sure it will be a hit with the students as well. The laughter that I heard as they read it was a delight. Of course I wouldn’t expect anything less from Mac Barnett. There is no such thing as too much laughter while reading.

I love this book -- and I am so excited to get it into kids' hands at the library! It hits all the right notes -- goofy, zany, and fun! When the powers that be discover that the moon is being eaten by Moon Rats, they have one animal for the job.... a cat. The First Cat in Space joins the Moon Queen and the robot LOZ 4000 to go across the moon --- battling foes, getting lost in caves, and joining the crew of the pirate Baby-beard. Will they stop the rats in time? Will the First Cat in Space eat pizza?! This is bound to be a big hit for any kid and honestly, this adult is obsessed as well. Recommended for all collections serving children.

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza was a really funny graphic novel with so many zany characters. We enjoyed reading this book together and portraying various characters in silly voices. There were so many side characters that brought a lot of life to the storyline. The story was a great length. We were so happy to see the cat finally get to enjoy some pizza at the end of the story! We can't wait for the potential sequel!

I received a free digital ARC from HarperCollins Children’s Books via NetGalley. This is a graphic novel for ages 8-12. My son who is 7 loved this because as he said “it has cats, robots, the moon and pizza.” The Princess, the cat and the robot have to save the moon from being eaten by rats with large incisors. Their trip is full of meeting very ridiculous characters that propel their journey forward to the climatic ending with the rats. I wish the cat said more than Meow. I loved the scientists on Earth.

My son gave this 10 out of 10 and wants to read the sequel. I did not find the humor as funny as him, but clearly the target audience is not adults. There was some complex words with good textual references for young ones wanting to build their language skills. It is lengthy and it took a couple of days to read, but it completely caught his attention.

I will read any graphic novel that involves cats. I just can't help myself. I don't care if it's for a 2-year-old or an 80-year-old, I'm in.

Rats are eating the moon and will soon consume it completely. There is only one brave enough, smart enough, and a natural enemy of the vile rat...The First Cat in Space! Accompanied by the Moon Queen and LOZ 4000, a toenail clipping robot in search of a purpose, the First Cat in Space journeys across a fantastic lunar landscape in a quest to save the world.

This was a true delight! I almost wish I had a kid to read it to because they would love it.

I, for one am looking forward to the sequel.
Recommended and will soon be published on May 10, 2022, by Harper Collins Children's Book

Thanks to @Netgalley, Harper Collins Children's Books, and Mac Barnett for the opportunity to read the eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Before I started to read this book I was a bit skeptical how a book with its main character being a cat in space would be interesting. I found this book to be cute, a fast read and a bit silly. I think a younger reader would think this book is funny. Would be great for a classroom or library.

The pictures that went with the book were simple yet well done. I really liked them.

Overall, I would read more by this author. I would like to see other adventures with The First Cat in Space, Moon Queen, LOZ 4000 and the many other unique characters in the future.

5 beautifully-illustrated, fun, hilarious stars!

This middle-grade series is about the first cat in space who ate pizza~ Although the series is meant for younger kids, this was hilarious and entertaining to read as an adult too! We get to meet The First Cat in Space and his newfound allies Moon Queen and LOZ 4000 [a toenail-clipping robot XD] and plenty of other fun and wacky characters throughout. They are on a space mission to save the moon from rats~

The most important question: when will the First Cat in Space get his pizza??

You're never too old for comics and graphic novels. I would 10/10 read the next book in this funny series!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Katherine Tegen Books for providing a digital ARC in exchange for review!

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza is a hilarious graphic novel by Mac Barnett. This book hooked my son and I from the beginning. It kept us entertained all the way though with its witty banter and unique story. The book made my son giggle and read with emotion!

I recommend this book for all the parents out there looking to get your kids excited to read. I will be purchasing a copy of this book for our home library and for the little lending library in our neighborhood.

I received an electronic ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley.
Barnett packs humor and ridiculousness into this story of a cat who has been scientifically enhanced and sent to the moon to save it from the invading rats. Shortly after the launch, readers meet a stowaway toenail trimming computer who is searching for their purpose. Together with the Queen of the Moon, they set off to cross the moon and save it. Their adventures lead them inside and across the terrain and readers travel with them through every scene. Of course, they win in the end but readers see a few hints of a second adventure to come.
The artwork is highly detailed and well worth studying. It tells the story that wraps around the dialogue.

Such a fun book! Really fun for younger kids but I really enjoyed the story line. It was really enjoyable and easy to follow.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel! It gave me huge Captain Underpants vibes which I haven't felt since I was a young reader. I have high hopes for this series.