Mortimer: Rat Race to Space
Children’s science writer Joan Marie Galat has just published another great fun and educational book for kids ages 9 to 12.
At first Mortimer doesn’t see himself as a likely candidate to win the rat race to space. Though a few, like Celeste, are not keen on the idea of space travel, most of Mortimer’s fellow-competitors were born in the same lab and named after cheeses. Lacking the status of a native of the lab, he feels like an outside contender.
As competition heats up, Gorgonzola tries to hobble Halloumi, making Mortimer more determined to beat the cheater in the race through the maze. On an impulse he cheats too, by deliberately confusing a competitor. Seeing Celeste’s disappointment makes him then burrow into his chips, ashamed. But Mortimer wants to do the right thing. His next job is to be prepared in case a chance comes, so he hops on a truck for the Neutral Buoyancy Pool, where astronauts train for zero gravity conditions.
Informed and prepared, Mortie returns to the lab and discovers the chosen ratonaut has failed the health screening. Ready to take her place in space, he looks forward to achieving his other ambition. Mortie wants his own YouTube channel, where he plans to prove that rats are better at space travel than humans. Armed with a micro camera, journal and lucky pen, he hopes the dramatic experiments he’s planning will prove persuasive.
Big challenges lie ahead. Before Mortie even leaves the ground, he must escape a hungry owl, face down an angry gopher, and play dodge the human. Once in space, there’s more to learn. Carefully, he watches how human astronauts manage to eat, drink, and keep clean without the help of gravity. He also learns about waste in space. Garbage produced by the astronauts on the International Space Station makes him reflect that rats would never throw so much stuff away. It’s also dangerous. Even a small piece of debris colliding with the ISS could damage it, so spacecraft must rely on sensors to detect such hazards and prevent collisions.
Mortimer is not the only ratonaut on board. He makes friends and has fun with a fellow traveller who helps him carry out experiments and film the results. Mortie’s presence on the space walk is unplanned, and the view of earth from a space suit is sobering to say the least. Luckily, he can use his yoga breathing to keep calm. Inside the spacesuit, he’s about to discover his important role in the biggest space adventure of all. That’s when he’ll learn his most important lesson too.