‘ Pluto Rocket: New in Town’ with story and art by Paul Gilligan is a graphic novel for kids about an alien, who just wants to fit in.

When Pluto Rocket shows up in town, she is met by Joe Pidge, a pigeon. Joe is the stylish self-proclaimed king of the neighborhood. Pluto has been sent on a mission to discover what life is like in the neighborhood. Lucky for Pluto, Joe Pidge has seen it all, eaten it all, and pooped on it all before. Lucky for Joe, Pluto can make it rain tacos!

I liked this fun, laugh out loud graphic novel. Pluto and Joe are great characters, and the art is a lot of fun.

A silly but enjoyable book. An alien and a pigeon explore the town together. That's about the extent of the plot here. The pigeon is a self-important blowhard. The alien is a bit oblivious. Together they cause strange things to happen. There is a message about jealously and being a good friend but it's pretty shallow. Mostly just simple entertainment.

This was a very cute beginning reading, graphic novel. Pluto rocket is an alien who has come to earth find all the good things. They are on a secret mission and the first being they meet is Joe Pidge, who is a pigeon. Joe Pidge makes it his duty to show Pluto rocket all the best things there are, become best friends and have a fun adventure. Perfect for those moving from picture books into chapter books.

What a fun graphic novel for young readers! They'll definitely want to get their hands on more Pluto Rocket stories after they read this!

This fun and hilarious new graphic novel is perfect for early chapterbook and middle grade readers! At just under 100 pages, with colourful illustrations and large speech bubble text, this book is the perfect length for middle grade readers, while not being too cognitively demanding for struggling readers. I could definitely see this book in my grade 3 class and am excited to see what is in store for Pluto Rocket in the future! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

This book is funny and quite a bit silly (that was my daughters review)

I read the book with my five year old daughter and she loved it

It was a bit wacky and out there and she really giggles at some of the pages

The illustrations are lovely too and really bring the story to life

It is 4 stars from me for this one - a fun little read and one I can see being a hit!

Very young-reading comic, with a pigeon with an ego the size of, well, somewhere big, meeting an alien here to witness Earthly life for itself. The first story is how they encourage and befriend the other in bursts of positivity, the second is what happens when the alien gets encouraged to try a taco, and learns about sharing as a result, and the third shows the dilemma of finding a safe ground somewhere between being exuberant and outstanding and being noticed as an alien and taken back home again. Joe Pidge is a fun character, full of himself but not dislikeable, and while Pluto Rocket is the childish innocent abroad and so less dynamic she will help make this a fine series in further books to come. I did find some odd choices of vocab for such a junior book, however – outstanding, formulate and “solarised proton particles”. I would have tweaked this to be even more accessible than it currently is, but beyond that there is little to fault. A good four stars.

3.5/5
Cute, silly graphic novel for young readers about an alien visitor to earth who befriends a pigeon and learns all about 'the neighbourhood' from his new buddy. Full of bright, attractive illustrations and accessible, amusing text this short chapter book is sure to be a hit with readers aged 6-8. An enjoyable introduction to the world of Pluto Rocket, I look forward to adding this to my class library when it's published in early 2023!
Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and Penguin Random House Canada for the free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great graphic novel for little fans of aliens, big fans of friendship, and all fans of pigeons! I love the message to be your authentic self and to be a good friend, but also really respect how Joe Pidge also shows flaws, like some selfishness (wanting Pluto Rocket only to share the taco with him).

A fun read featuring an alien and a pigeon as main characters. Are we okay? Yes, we are!

The story is such a fun comic read with weird funny, wise crack characters. The dialogues are no brainer but they are hilarious.

The illustration is neat and well done I say!

If you're someone who follow comic strips religiously, you will definitely love this one.

Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for the advance reading copy.

*Comes out in January,2023