Kindle Edition Amazon gjgriffiths writer Category:  Children Publisher: GJG ISBN-10:  153365977X Type: Fiction Pages: 80 Copyright: June 19, 2016 ISBN-13: 9781533659774 Price: $3.99 (eBook) This is a delightful tale for young readers, sure to give them an early love for the sci-fi genre. Ant-like aliens have landed and whisked away two youngsters, hoping they can help them find their most precious commodity, krizzlejox or, as we know it - Teflon! Would you like an adventure on another planet? This is just one of the questions Lara and her sister, Eva, must answer one sunny day in their garden. They wonder, how will they return to Earth in time for lunch? And how will they get there when the aliens’ spaceship is so small? When it’s only big enough for ants! But their help is needed on the planet Zeegrazzalo- Jeewoppza so off they go - into the unknown. Their feelings of helplessness only start to fade after a flight across the planet's Outerlands, in Kweezy Capolza's hummingcraft. Maybe, just maybe, the sisters can find some solutions to the aliens' problems. However, they think they might need their mother's help and she is back on Earth! This is a delightful tale for young readers, sure to give them an early love for the sci-fi genre. Ant-like aliens have landed and whisked away two youngsters, hoping they can help them find their most precious commodity, krizzlejox or, as we know it - Teflon! The girls have an intriguing adventure ahead of them as they try to learn more about the ant-persons and their culture. First there's a bit of a language barrier with amusing conversations between Kweezy and the girls. Then there's the strange ant food (which turns out to be quite nice) aboard the spaceship. Later there’s the trip in a hummingcraft and a tour around the aliens’ brood chambers, the conservation zoo and Kweezy’s science lab. Young readers will enjoy the fun language throughout, complete with words that are laugh-out-loud to hear when the story is read aloud. Not to mention pantomimes of the ant-persons' wiggly antennae and hilarious mis-understandings of words! But it isn't all fun and games. There's a lesson to be learned as well about respecting the Earth and taking good care of all its creatures. Simple references to Einstein and relativity travel add a gentle piece of education while raising a smile through their mother’s confusion at the conclusion of the story. A great book to read alone or enjoy while sat on your grown-up's lap!   Excerpt And with that there was a great rushing and roaring noise that seemed to fill up the whole space inside the spaceship, and the space inside their heads. It was a little bit scary and Lara felt like crying. Eva was a very kind sister and she held Lara’s hand. ‘It’s all right, Lara. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about. Is there, Kweezy?’ Kweezy came over to Lara and held her other hand as the roaring noise suddenly went quieter and quieter, until there was just a gentle kind of swishing sound. It was just like the sound of a warm breeze in the trees on a bright summer day. A little like the day they had left behind on Earth and the sisters felt sad for a moment. That is correct, Agorrl. Nothing to worry about. It is only our rocket engines pushing us through the gravity of your Earth. We will now travel at such velocity that we will reach Antanesta before you have time to finish your meal. As Kweezy Capolza finished speaking, another ant-person came to them with a green tray, of what seemed to be large green leaves that had small lumps of green porridge on them. The sisters looked at each other and said, ‘Yuk! I don’t feel very hungry anymore.’ But Kweezy said: You must try it, Agorrl, it is delicious! Mm, mm! So Lara lifted a green leaf of green porridge to her mouth, but paused, with her eyes closed, to sniff it first. Then she said to Eva, ‘Hm, it smells lovely, like honey and ice cream and strawberries, all at the same time.’ This immediately made Eva do the same thing. ‘And I can smell lemon meringue as well I think.’ Then Eva, still with her eyes closed, licked the green porridge to taste it. ‘Wow!’ said Eva. ‘Wow! You’re right, Kweezy, it’s scrummy!’ She opened her eyes and using the crystal spoon from the tray began to eat up the green porridge. Lara watched her and began to eat too. ‘Mm, mm! Scrummy, yummy in my tummy,’ said Lara, keeping one eye closed. Is something wrong with your eyes, Agorrl?

Alex James Reviews
Ants in Space is a pleasant illustrated science-fiction book for children 8-12 year olds, which entertains and yet at the same time informs about serious environmental problems. The light and clear tone means it can also be happily enjoyed by adults reading to children.

When Lara and Eva first try to have a conversation with alien ant Kweezy Capolza, they have no idea that they might find themselves transported away from their Mum on a trip to learn about taking care of the environment and all living creatures. They will learn that even doing small things can contribute to helping, like finding non-stick pots.

I was convinced children would understand the message, much as I did. I liked how Kweezy took things literally, like the girls' names when they weren't saying their names, and when the girls say "Two suns, how cool is that?". Taking things literally is sometimes a common trait of aliens visiting earthlings, and ironically those on the autistic spectrum. It could be to do with difficulties in language processing, so this does make sense.

There are some neat ideas in Ants in Space, some of which can easily referenced to current technology such as similar mini mobile-phone devices. There were some new ideas as well like shrinking devices, being simple and yet effective for children to understand. The ants’ antennae curl up in happiness or flop down in sadness, which I felt was a good way for the children to understand what the ants were feeling and to sympathise with them.


J.C. Wing
Even before the story starts to unfold, author G.J. Griffiths had me laughing out loud. He begins with an instructional note about how his tale, Ants in Space, should be told. Adults are known to forget important details like making sure tiny ant-people have tiny voices. He tells the children, who are excellent at reminding grown-ups, that this is an essential part of the storytelling, and Griffiths offers the most wonderful opportunity for both readers and listeners with this first book in his new series.

Lara is in the garden one beautiful day admiring the flowers, the sunny weather and the ants that are marching along the ground. When she hears tiny voices, she is sure that it is her older sister, Eva, playing tricks on her. When she realizes that Eva is nowhere near, she decides to do some investigating. This is when both Lara and Eva are carried away to begin their out of this world adventure.

These little ant-people the girls discover are enchanting. After Lara tells them she’s ‘a girl’, and that Eva is ‘my sister’, the tiny aliens take to calling them ‘Agorrl’ and ‘Myzeesta’. This is only one of the many wonderful, creative things Griffiths has come up with to make his story unique and entertaining.

The ant-persons of planet Antanesta need help. They are facing the direst of situations, and are hopeful that the children living on planet Earth will be able to assist them. Will Lara and Eva be able to come up with a solution to their problem?

I love everything about G.J. Griffiths’ Ants in Space. This book is absolutely mesmerizing … and not just for children. I’m an adult well past my picture book phase, and I was completely enthralled; not only with the story itself, but with the humor the author includes throughout, and the illustrations that decorate this delightful tale.


Lee Gabel's Reviews
If you were to ask an eleven year old if they wanted to read about the consequences of global industrialization on human and animal habitat, they would probably say "no". But to read a story about "Ants in Space", you'd likely get a resounding "yes".

I was not surprised to discover that author G.J. Griffiths was a retired science teacher. "Ants in Space", the first book in Griffiths's "Kweezy Capolza" series, is loaded with real-world facts and delightful illustrations. The parallels drawn between Earth and Antanesta, although not immediately obvious, are written in easily understood language for the books target audience to pick up on.

Griffiths has set up the beginning of an engaging series where the characters discover how to help two worlds instead of one, and it is a great resource to initiate discussion in the classroom about protecting the Earth for future generations