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Star Power #2 (Astronaut Girl) Paperback – January 12, 2021

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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Can Astronaut Girl save the day with a little help from science? Find out as she and her space crew blast off on new adventures in this chapter book series!

Everyone knows that humans can't travel to the sun...at least that's true in the year 2020. But when Astronaut Girl, Wallace, and the Astro crew find themselves orbiting the sun in a solar probe, they soon discover that they've gone almost one thousand years into the future! As they are zipping through space, the heat shields on their spacecraft come loose. They must find a way to fix it and get back to Earth in time for Wallace's family barbecue and before their probe gets baked like a potato!

Exciting, easy-to-read books are the stepping stone a young reader needs to bridge the gap between being a beginner and being fluent.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cathy Hapka (she/her) has written more than one hundred books for children and young adults. She lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Ellen Vandenberg (she/her) is the author of numerous books for young readers. She lives in New York City.

Gillian Reid (she/her) is a British illustrator, character designer and teacher, She lives in Ontario, Canada.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1: Rainy Day
 
“Look, Val.” Wallace held up his notebook. “What do you think?”
 
I was watching the rain come down in Wallace’s front yard. I looked at his notebook. There was a weird drawing in it.
 
“What is that thing?” I asked.
 
“It’s a heat blaster,” Wallace said. He pointed to the homemade action figure sitting on the porch swing. “Zixtar could use this to fight the ice aliens.”
 
“It looks like a flying hot dog,” I said. “What’s the power source? Ketchup?”
 
My stomach grumbled. Hot dogs and ketchup made me think about the barbecue happening soon. All of Wallace’s relatives were coming, and the whole neighborhood was invited, too. I couldn’t wait. I just hoped it stopped raining by then.
 
“Whatever,” Wallace muttered. “I’m just saying we need to figure something out, or the earth will be a giant snowball forever.”
 
I shrugged. “We can figure it out after the barbecue.”
 
He looked unhappy. I wasn’t surprised. Wallace was obsessed with the TV show Comet Jumpers. He was even entering a contest to write an episode for the show! Zixtar was a new character he’d created. That’s what Wallace told me when he moved here last week. He doesn’t know much about science or outer space, but lucky for him, I do! That’s why everyone calls me Astronaut Girl. And it’s why I offered to be his partner to write the script.
 
“Hey, Walla Walla!” someone shouted.
 
A car had just stopped in front of the house. “Who’s that?” I asked. I couldn’t wait to meet all of Wallace’s relatives.
 
“It’s Aunt Celia, Uncle Walt, and my cousins Kayla and Dwayne.” Wallace still sounded grumpy. I wondered if he was worried about the barbecue being rained out. I wasn’t worried, though. His gramps already said he would move the grill onto the back porch if he had to.
 
The adults waved and went inside. Dwayne and Kayla stayed on the porch. They were a few years older than us.
 
“Hi, I’m Val,” I said. “I live next door. I’m Wallace’s writing partner.”
 
Dwayne grinned. “Writing partner, huh?” he said, and elbowed Wallace. “Is she going to help you not embarrass yourself at the family storytelling contest today?”
 
Dwayne and Kayla laughed. Wallace didn’t.
 
“Storytelling contest?” I said. “What’s that?”
 
They told me they had a family tradition. When everyone got together, they ended the gathering by holding a contest. Anyone who wanted to could tell a story, and everyone voted on the best one.
 
“I won at Easter dinner,” Dwayne said. He held up the big fancy medal that hung from his neck. “I told the story about how I found a lost puppy when I was mountain biking. Everyone loved it.”
 
Kayla nodded. “And at Thanksgiving, Aunt Kim won with this wild tall tale about a haunted henhouse. We couldn’t stop laughing!”
 
I laughed, too. “That sounds fun!”
 
Wallace wasn’t laughing. “Everyone else will be here soon,” he said. “I should go see if Gramps needs help with the grill.” He stomped off into the house.
 
“Oops, that reminds me,” I told Dwayne and Kayla. “I promised Mom and Daddy I’d help with the potato salad. See you soon!”
 
I ran home through the rain. Mom and Daddy were in the kitchen. Mom was scrubbing the potatoes, and Daddy was mixing herbs into the mayonnaise. The Baby was helping by tossing Cheerios at Astro Cat.
 
“Hi, Val,” Daddy said. “You’re just in time to peel the eggs.”
 
I washed my hands and got to work. “I hope the sun comes out soon,” I said. “Wallace seems kind of grumpy about the rain.”
 
Mom looked surprised. “Really?” she said. “Wallace doesn’t seem like the grumpy type.”
 
The Baby giggled and tossed a handful of Cheerios at Daddy. A few landed in the mayonnaise bowl.
 
“That’s not part of the recipe!” Daddy exclaimed with a laugh.
 
Suddenly the door flew open. Wallace rushed in.
 
“I just had a great idea for the script!” he cried. “We need to discuss it right now!”
 
 
 
Chapter 2: Lab Work
 
“Now?” I said. “But the barbecue is starting soon.”
 
I looked out the window. More cars were parked in front of Wallace’s house. People were hurrying inside.
 
Daddy looked outside, too. “The sun’s coming out just in time!”
 
“The sun is what we need to talk about, Val!” Wallace exclaimed. “I just remembered an idea that my friend Carlos from back home had. He said Zixtar could hide from the ice aliens on the sun. While he’s there, he can use the heat to power his blaster ray!”
 
I burst out laughing. Astro Cat stared at me in surprise.
 
“You have to be kidding,” I told Wallace. “Nobody can survive on the sun!”
 
“Well, we have to think of something!” Wallace said. “The deadline for the contest is only a couple of weeks away!”
 
Daddy winked at me. “We can finish up the potato salad without you. You and Wallace might need to review some data down in your lab.”
 
Daddy always talks like that. He’s an astrophysicist. That’s a scientist who studies outer space, like I do.
 
“I guess you’re right. Come on, Wallace,” I said.
 
“Hang on,” Mom said. She picked up the Baby and handed him to me. “Take him with you, or there will be more Cheerios than potatoes in the salad.”
 
I took the Baby and led Wallace to the basement. Astro Cat tagged along.
 
My lab has everything a scientist like me needs. There’s a table where I draw blueprints and a whiteboard for making calculations. I have tools to build stuff and lots of cabinets and drawers. Everything is labeled with my state-of-the-art label maker. Some of my projects are on display, like my mobile of the solar system that won a prize in the science fair.
 
The Baby uses part of my lab as a playroom. I put him in his playpen with the stuffed rocket ship I gave him.
 
Wallace sat down on a stool. “So what about Carlos’s idea? I think it’s great.”
 
“Great? ” I said. “No way. It’s a good thing I’m your writing partner now instead of Carlos.”
 
Wallace scowled. “Don’t insult my friend.”
 
“I’m not insulting anyone,” I said. “Facts are facts. And a star like the sun is the last place someone would hide out. For one thing, the surface temperature is almost ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and—”
 
“Wait,” Wallace interrupted. “If nobody can go to the sun, how do they know how hot it is?”
 
I sighed. As Daddy always says, not everybody knows as much about science and outer space as we do!
 
“One way is to use a solar probe,” I said. “That’s a spacecraft made to get close to the sun or other stars so scientists can learn more about them. As a matter of fact, I’ve been working on one this summer. Here, I’ll show you.”
 
My half-built probe was on the counter, and covered to keep the dust off. I whipped off the sheet. The probe was made out of a big metal wastebasket. Sensors, antennae, and other instruments covered its surface.
 
Wallace looked impressed. “That’s cool,” he said. “Maybe Zixtar could drive it to the sun.”
 
“No way,” I said. “Even NASA hasn’t tried making solar probes that people can travel in. The technology isn’t there yet.”
 
“That’s okay,” Wallace said. “Remember, Comet Jumpers is set in the year 3000. Use your imagination! I’m sure scientists will work it out by then.” He grabbed something off the counter. “What’s this?”
 
“Be careful!” I grabbed it back. “They’re the goggles Daddy and I made for viewing solar eclipses.”
 
I put the goggles in my space pack for safekeeping and opened my favorite book, The Universe, to the chapter about solar probes. I was explaining how carbon heat shields help protect from the sun’s extreme heat and energy waves when I noticed that instead of paying attention, Wallace was scratching Astro Cat with Zixtar’s tentacle.
 
“Are you listening?” I asked. “Our episode won’t work if we don’t get the facts right. I wish you’d think like a scientist more often!”
 
“I wish you’d build a time machine so we could see what the year 3000 is really like,” Wallace said at the same time.
 
WHOOOSH!
 
“It’s happening again!” I cried as Astro Cat yowled, the Baby squealed, and the room went dark—and then suddenly very, very bright . . .

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Workshop (January 12, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 059309574X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593095744
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 - 8 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 530L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 1 - 3
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.3 x 7.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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Cathy Hapka
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Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
18 global ratings

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Even better than book 1!
5 out of 5 stars
Even better than book 1!
Another cute early reader I think kids are going to love. We revisit the world of Val (Astronaut Girl) and Wallace in this one, as Wallace's family is about to have a BBQ. But Wallace is anxious because his family BBQ's include a storytelling contest, and he was laughed off the stage at the last one.Just like in Book 1, Val and Wallace end up unexpectedly in space (this time near various stars), but I think the plot is even stronger in this book because it doesn't rely on Val's bossiness to create (as much of the) conflict. Instead, the kids have to figure out what language the AI named PRIMROSE on their space ship (solar probe) is speaking, which leads to some humor when she moves from English to French to canine (and scares poor Astro Cat in the process). They also have to fix a portion of the ship that got damage in a solar flare.As in Book 1, these stories are sprinkled with real science facts about space, this time various star systems. The information is usually related to the situation at hand and shared via dialogue, helping it avoid feeling didactic. I would've read these books multiple times as a kid and I'm sure they'll be a hit with kid readers today too.Another great book in this series. Time to read the third!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
    Another cute early reader I think kids are going to love. We revisit the world of Val (Astronaut Girl) and Wallace in this one, as Wallace's family is about to have a BBQ. But Wallace is anxious because his family BBQ's include a storytelling contest, and he was laughed off the stage at the last one.

    Just like in Book 1, Val and Wallace end up unexpectedly in space (this time near various stars), but I think the plot is even stronger in this book because it doesn't rely on Val's bossiness to create (as much of the) conflict. Instead, the kids have to figure out what language the AI named PRIMROSE on their space ship (solar probe) is speaking, which leads to some humor when she moves from English to French to canine (and scares poor Astro Cat in the process). They also have to fix a portion of the ship that got damage in a solar flare.

    As in Book 1, these stories are sprinkled with real science facts about space, this time various star systems. The information is usually related to the situation at hand and shared via dialogue, helping it avoid feeling didactic. I would've read these books multiple times as a kid and I'm sure they'll be a hit with kid readers today too.

    Another great book in this series. Time to read the third!
    Customer image
    5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than book 1!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
    Another cute early reader I think kids are going to love. We revisit the world of Val (Astronaut Girl) and Wallace in this one, as Wallace's family is about to have a BBQ. But Wallace is anxious because his family BBQ's include a storytelling contest, and he was laughed off the stage at the last one.

    Just like in Book 1, Val and Wallace end up unexpectedly in space (this time near various stars), but I think the plot is even stronger in this book because it doesn't rely on Val's bossiness to create (as much of the) conflict. Instead, the kids have to figure out what language the AI named PRIMROSE on their space ship (solar probe) is speaking, which leads to some humor when she moves from English to French to canine (and scares poor Astro Cat in the process). They also have to fix a portion of the ship that got damage in a solar flare.

    As in Book 1, these stories are sprinkled with real science facts about space, this time various star systems. The information is usually related to the situation at hand and shared via dialogue, helping it avoid feeling didactic. I would've read these books multiple times as a kid and I'm sure they'll be a hit with kid readers today too.

    Another great book in this series. Time to read the third!
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2021
    what a fun follow up to astronaut girl #1! i love the way they use humor and adventure to teach reading and sun and space facts. we had fun and learned a lot. my favorite character is a toss up between astro cat and the baby.