Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story (review)

Smaller than the other experimental mice chosen to accompany a group of astronauts on a space shuttle mission, little Meteor is nonetheless confident and excited to be going on such a journey. While the other mice “cling to their cage in terror” in space, Meteor enjoys the sensation of being weightless and is thrilled when he is able to help the astronauts with a small, but difficult, task: retrieving a control panel key that has become wedged in a tiny crack behind a monitor onboard. Author and astronaut Mark Kelly explains in a note afterwards that this fictional story has a tiny kernel of truth: among a group of experimental mice that once accompanied Kelly on a space mission, there was one who “seemed to enjoy the experience and effortlessly floated around the cage.” Kelly also provides a brief history of space flight, of the NASA shuttle program, and of space-traveling animals, as well as a bibliography and list of internet resources. The plot is pretty minimal, and there’s an uneasy combination of anthropomorphism and utilitarianism in the treatment of the space-borne mice. Still, the idea of a tiny mouse astronaut will appeal to many kids, especially fans of White’s Stuart Little, and Payne’s mixed media art excels at both providing a detailed look at the shuttle’s interior and the astronauts while capitalizing on the cute factor of Meteor as fuzzy little space traveler. The slightly caricatured humans and mice match the real-but-not-real tone of the story, and the bold compositions will make this visually successful with groups as well.