Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because I like Mr. Winn’s works, and that they encourage talk between kids and adults, and they have great messages! 😀

Space Cop Zack, Protector of the Galaxy

By Don M. Winn

Illustrated by Dave Allred

17 pages – ages 5+

Published by Cardboard Box Adventures (June 28, 2013)

Theme/Topic – Imagination / space / books for boys

Genre – Fiction

Opening and Synopsis –  “Space Cop Zack and his robot sidekick GARG skyrocketed through the stars. Zack steered his super-transformational smart ship, the Galaxian, straight into the middle of the swirling asteroid field of Vomitron 9.”

Zack and GARG are on the trail of the sinister criminal Dr. Dogbreath. They find themselves on planet X where they discover many obstacles including the Slime Forest and a giant octopus. Will Space Cop Zack be able to find and arrest Dr. Dogbreath? You decide! (no really, you do 😉 )

Why I liked this book – I love that this whole book takes place in a kid’s imagination. It makes a neat twist to the end of the book and you really can decide how the book ends using your imagination. At the end of the book you see what has really been happening and there’s a little map that shows where Zack and GARG (his toy robot) have been (his back yard). I thought it was fun to look at the map and then see where Zack really was during the story. The story fun to read and would make a great read aloud for parents and kids. I love the silly humor Mr. Winn puts in the book too. The illustrations are great! They are colorful and have a lot to look at in them.

Activities and Resources –

I didn’t have to go far to find great activities for this book. Mr. Winn included discussion questions parents can use with their kids. All of the questions help kids use their imaginations!

Make your own jet-pack! When I was little I glued two Styrofoam cups on the bottom of a cereal box and cut holes in the box to put ribbon through it to make it go around my arms. I loved my jet-pack and I used it for a long time. I thought this would be a good craft idea to go along with this book. I found this AWESOME version of it using soda bottles at Doodle Craft click HERE! You have to check out how cool it is!

Now that you have your jet pack, talk to your kids and decide how the story ends or make up a new adventure for Zack and GARG to go on!

To learn more about Mr. Winn, visit his Goodreads blog HERE or his website HERE. Find Mr. Winn on Facebook HERE or on Twitter @don_winn

Visit the Cardboard Box Adventures site HERE.

Categories: Age 6-9

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, don m winn, perfect picture book, space cop zack, susanna leonard hill