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Summary
Summary
In the sixth and final Pals in Peril tale that "offers adventure, wit, and heart" ( Booklist ), Jasper Dash is off into the universe to search for his long-lost father!
In this action-packed conclusion to the celebrated Pals in Peril series, Jasper Dash soars to unprecedented heights--as in, intergalactic, out-of-this-world dimensions--in order to locate the father he's never known. And if Jasper's previous adventures are any indication, this is going to be one stellar expedition!
He Laughed with His Other Mouths is "layered, beautiful, smart, and achingly funny. In a word, brilliant" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review).
Author Notes
M.T. Anderson is the author of the Pals in Peril series; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation series, the first volume of which won the National Book Award; The Norumbegan Quartet; Burger Wuss ; Thirsty ; and Feed , which was a finalist for the National Book Award, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book, and the winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adults. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Visit him at MT-Anderson.com.
Kurt Cyrus has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books celebrating the natural world, including What in the World?: Numbers in Nature by Nancy Raines Day; Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler; and his own Tadpole Rex and The Voyage of Turtle Rex . His art also appears in the middle grade series Pals in Peril by M.T. Anderson. Kurt lives with his wife in McMinnville, Oregon. Visit him at KurtCyrus.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Boy Technonaut Jasper Dash enlists the help of his friends to find his missing father in this science fiction adventure chock-full of aliens, spaceships, friendship, and plenty of death rays. Cyrus's illustrations add to this romp's rollicking humor. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, was once famous -- the hero of a series of adventure books and the inventor of rocket cars, submarines, and a bicycle that drilled to the center of the Earth. Now, however, nobody reads his books, and he feels that time has passed him by, even though he's only thirteen ("or about a hundred, depending on how you counted"). For the school science fair, he invents what he thinks is the world's first fully mobile telephone (nuclear-powered and the size of a truck) only to realize that everyone already has a phone in his or her pocket. "I don't belong in this world anymore," he groans, and builds a transporter to beam himself to another planet. He's immediately captured by the Dirrillill, a lumpish creature with many haphazardly arranged legs, arms, eyes, mouths, and ears. The Dirrillill has plans for conquering the universe, and only Jasper, his friends Katie and Lily, and Mrs. Dash (who adds spice to the space drama) stand a chance of stopping him. The fast pace, oddball characters (shown in occasional black-and-white spot art), and abundant humor in this sixth (and final) series installment (including Whales on Stilts, rev. 3/05; and Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, rev. 9/09), will appeal to young readers looking for vicarious adventures while they await their own. As the narrator says to them, "Life is long, and the world is wide and full of secrets and surprises. This planet is large enough for a million lifetimes." dean schneider (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The thrills continue as Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, goes into the deepest regions of space in search of his long-lost father.Jasper is joined by Katie Mulligan and Lily Gefelty for another absurd adventure through time and space. This time, Jasper's teleporter takes them deep within the Horsehead Nebula, the area of space that contains the secret of Jasper's origins. Mysterious extraterrestrials travel the globe, abducting random civilians to ask them one question: "Where is Jasper Dash?" Meanwhile, in the footnotes, young Busby Spence reads classic Jasper Dash adventure novels and longs for the return of his own father, fighting in the Pacific theater during World War II. Anderson's creative mixture of otherworldly adventure and heartfelt emotion is flawless. Nostalgic, hopeful and most importantly playful, the author has crafted a work that expresses all the pleasures of being young and getting lost in the realms of a great book. The novel doesn't transcend the wacky sci-fi of old that inspired it but rather embraces it and dissects it, celebrating it and exploring why so many people fell in love with these silly worlds and gee-whiz heroes in the first place. Above all, this is a testament to the art of reading, a book that reminds you why you love reading in the first place.Layered, beautiful, smart and achingly funny. In a word, brilliant. (Science fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The latest droll installment in the Pals in Peril series features Jasper Dash, boy technonaut (and erstwhile hero of a 1930s Stratemayer-style book series), in the lead role. After a humiliating public reaction to his new truck-sized atomic mobile phone, Jasper uses his other recent invention, a matter transporter that can take a man instantaneously to the stars, to search the Horsehead Nebula for the father he never knew. In the process, he falls under the spell of a grotesque space monster. Can Jasper's pals Katie and Lily save him? Meanwhile, footnotes tell of Busby Spence, a fan of the Jasper Dash books during WWII. Busby longed for his affable father to come home from the war, until he did return, shell-shocked and distant. Anderson layers the narratives skillfully, while Jasper's bravado, his tale's familiar elements (flying saucers, death rays), and the reliably happy ending make Busby's narrative all the more poignant. Illustrated with expressive digital drawings, this entertaining chapter book offers adventure, wit, and heart as well.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist