[.ca] Akiko and the Journey to Toog (ISBN 038573042X)

From Amazon.com:
Akiko to the rescue again! On her way home from school one day, the intrepid fifth grader is picked up in a space ship masquerading as a police car by her alien friends Mr. Beeba, Spuckler, and Gax. Quickly they explain: their friend Poog was recently called back to his planet, Toog, which apparently is in grave danger. But Poog hasn't returned, and his buddies are concerned. So off they all go, in spite of Akiko's misgivings: "We were heading to a planet none of us had ever been to before--a place where we were apparently not the least bit welcome--to deal with some sort of terrible threat that we knew absolutely nothing about. It sounded like an excellent recipe for total disaster." But Akiko has faced danger before, and has always made it through in one piece (Akiko and the Intergalactic Zoo , Akiko on the Planet Smoo , etc.). Surely she can save little purple Poog and make it home in time to relieve her replacement robot on Earth before another school day… Mark Crilley's Japanese anime-inspired Akiko series offers plenty of intergalactic adventure and a spunky, likable heroine who is surprisingly down-to-earth for being so often in outer space. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Journey to Toog A Thrilling Ride:
AKIKO AND THE JOURNEY TO TOOG What a thrilling read! Although she may be a pretty average fifth grader, in a pretty average town, Akiko_s extremely dull life turns almost instantly into one of the most exciting adventures anybody could have. Mark Crilley, the author and illustrator, combines sparkling humor with thrills and chills as he leads Akiko and the rest of her crew---Spuckler, Gax, Mr. Beeba (and later Poog) in taking on the dreaded Toogolians. Whether it_s the deliciously-funny Mr. Beeba trying to speak Toogolian, or Poog swearing he_s never seen his dear friends before in his life, the reader is soon caught up with the heart-pounding twists and turns of discovering drobe mines, watching Ragstubble eating disgusting slimy, green and alive little wormy things, finding a way into the interior of the fearsome Core eater, doing battle with the well-armed Tri-Yarm sentries, watching with terrifying fascination as Poog is trapped in an enormous block of yellowish ice and Gax is rendered into a virtual pile of worthless junk. I can_t give away the ending, of course, but talk about a roller-coaster ride of emotions! Akiko is at her courageous best as she uses her skills, wisdom, imagination and boundless energy to confront the dreaded Zeem monster. It_s a page-turner alright. But do you know what? When I got to Chapter five I said to myself, _If I don_t limit myself to reading just one chapter a day, I_m going to finish this book in one sitting! So from then on I disciplined myself to reading only one chapter a day. I like being glued to the pages of a book I don_t want to end! And this one gave me almost three week_s worth of exhilarating fun!