The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza 

By Mac Barnett; illustrated by Shawn Harris

Informational Resources:

Author Information: 

Mac Barnett’s website

https://www.macbarnett.com/

A Video Interview with Mac Barnett. 24 clips totaling 45 minutes of watch time:

https://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/barnett

Illustrator Information:

Shawn Harris’ website

https://www.shawnharris.info/

An Interview with Shawn Harris

https://whattoreadtoyourkids.com/2021/05/06/an-interview-with-shawn-harris/

Activities & Resources:

Activities: 

Cats

Cat | Breeds & Facts:

https://www.britannica.com/animal/cat

10 Animals that Went to Space (4:28):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=vJVcsUcjNKg

Space

Educator Guide - Moon Phases:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/moon-phases/

History of Space Travel:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space/article/history-of-space-travel

Robots

Why do We Send Robots to Space:

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/space-robots/en/

NASA’s Space Robotics Challenge (1:54):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=aTpDj5hDO6s

Add-ons From the Author, Mac Barnett

Listen to The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza soundtrack:

https://www.thefirstcatinspace.com/music

Live Cartoons:

https://www.thefirstcatinspace.com/livecartoons

Crafts

DIY Felt Pizza Bookmark:

https://diyinspired.com/diy-felt-pizza-bookmark/

Cat Mask Craft:

https://www.fantasticfunandlearning.com/cat-mask-craft.html

Makerspace:

Build a Simple Circuit Using a Pizza Box

https://www.instructables.com/Build-a-Simple-Circuit-from-a-Pizza-Box-No-Solder/

Building Junkbots—Robots from Recycled Materials

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/junkbots#summary

Free Printable Comic Strip Templates:

https://www.papertraildesign.com/comic-strip-template-pages/

Solar System Bead Activity:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/solar-system-bead-activity/

Styrofoam Robots (5:08):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=bO_pzYtoPec

Discussion Questions:

The book begins with the moon causing people and animals to act very strangely. What do you think was the funniest side effect of this?

The doctor calculates the rats will have the whole moon eaten in three days. How did this make the General feel? Stressed? Worried? How could you tell?

On page 19 we learn that behind the steel door was the Earth’s last hope and savior. What did you expect it to be?

Look at the menu of food in a tube options on page 33. What food looks the most delicious? What about the most disgusting?

In chapter 4, the Queen of the Moon lays out a dangerous plan to get to the dark side. What makes First Cat and LOZ 4000 think they should trust her?

On page 64, the Queen of the Moon offers the Man in the Moon a basket of glumpfoozles. What did she hope he would do for them in exchange?

The computer from First Cat’s ship sneaks off and warns the evil rats that First Cat and LOZ 4000 are on their way to save the moon. Why do you think he chose to betray First Cat?

Dennis convinces First Cat and LOZ 4000 that they are working too hard and need to relax. At that moment, would relaxing hurt or help their mission on the moon? Explain your answer.

Every moment First Cat gets so close to eating the pizza but something always happens and he doesn’t get his chance. Tell us about a time you’ve waited patiently for something that felt like it was never going to happen. 

On page 139, First Cat, the Queen of the Moon, and LOZ 4000 are stuck in the Land of Frost and a giant does not want to help them because he dislikes the Queen’s mother. What would it feel like to be disliked because of something someone else did?

When First Cat and the Queen of the Moon are sleeping, LOZ 4000 meets a friend who takes him on a grand adventure. In what ways did his friend show appreciation for LOZ 4000?

The trees in the Peninsula of Thunder can speak and tell the group that everything in the forest is alive. In what ways is that true even for the real forests that surround us?

Captain Babybeard gives the Queen a contract to sign and she pressures First Cat and LOZ 4000 to sign them without reading them. Predict what you think could happen from not reading an important document like this before signing. 

When Captain Babybeard tells the group they have to help him plunder a ship, LOZ 4000 argues that they cannot do that because they are heroes. What are qualities of people or characters that we would consider heroic? Do they match up with plundering a ship?

The rat doctor created a giant trap to catch First Cat. Why were there problems with this trap and what would have been a better solution?

The group was surprised when the Giant Lady turned out to be so ferocious. What about her appearance made them believe they shouldn’t fear her?

When Queen of the Moon, LOZ 4000, and First Cat are stuck at the bottom of the pit, a rock tells them to just accept their fate but the Queen tells them a queen would never do that. What are some qualities of strong leaders?

LOZ 4000 never received much credit for his role in saving First Cat, Queen of the Moon, and even the moon itself. What do you think might have happened if they didn’t have him?

When the Queen realized how much LOZ had done for them, how did she show LOZ 4000 that she was thankful for his service to the moon? 

This book is known for being very funny. What did you think was the funniest part?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza.

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Watch the illustrator's trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Read Alikes:

Cats as Protagonists 

Boothby, Ian. Sparks! August is a brilliant inventor who is afraid of the outside. Charlie is a crack pilot who isn't afraid of anything. Together these pals save lives every day. They also happen to be cats who pilot a powerful, mechanical dog suit! Always eager to leap into danger, this feline duo have their work cut out for them as they try to thwart Princess, an evil alien bent on enslaving mankind. Don't let the fact that Princess looks like a cute, diaper-wearing baby fool you. She's clever, determined, and totally ruthless. So when Princess and the browbeaten fools she calls servants enact a brilliant and dastardly plan to conquer Earth, August and Charlie pull out all the stops to save the day. (NoveList)

Brockington, Drew. CatStronauts. Book 1, Mission Moon. Alerted to a global energy crisis, the President consults with the World's Best Scientist, who suggests sending a special group of astronauts to turn the Moon into a solar power plant. (NoveList)

Burks, James. Agent 9. Agent 9 and his robotic partner FiN are called in by the Super-Secret Spy Service to save the world from bumbling supervillain King Crab and his diabolical plans to melt the polar ice caps and build a massive water park. (NoveList)

Corbett, Phil. Kitty quest 1. Guided by the last, incorporeal member of an ancient guild of protectors, aspiring adventurers Perigold and Woolfrik successfully subdue a rampaging monster and the bumbling wizard controlling it. (NoveList)

Good vs. Evil

Anderson, Laura Ellen. Evil emperor penguin. Evil Emperor Penguin lives in Antarctica and plots to take over the world with his two minions: a polite and thoughtful purple octopus and an abominable snowman who loves nothing more than a hug. (NoveList)

Reviews:

Barnett, Mac. The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen/Harper Alley. 2022

Booklist

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza.

By Mac Barnett (author) Illustrated by Shawn Harris

HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen/Harper Alley, 320p. $15.99 (9780063084087). Grades 2-5.. 

REVIEW. First published April 15, 2022 (Booklist). 

When evil rats from outer space begin eating Earth’s moon, the only answer is to blast a cat in a space  suit up there to deal with them. Thus begins a hilarious series of episodic space adventures, colored by a  host of silly characters who help or hinder First Cat on his way to confronting the villainous Rat King.  Best buds Barnett and Harris have here adapted their inspiring “live cartoon” video series into a meaty  graphic novel, and it’s an obvious work of creative joy. Gags from the videos are successfully repeated  on the page, and the jokes work on multiple levels: even when some of the more meta humor goes over  the heads of less experienced readers, there’s visual and tonal comedy in every panel. Harris’ thick-lined  cartoon artwork adds undeniable grandeur and beauty to the settings of an otherwise goofy affair, and  the character design is endearing, especially the laconic First Cat (“Meow”), who ventures to the moon  with all the air of Washington crossing the Delaware. A definite winner in the age of Dog Man. —Ronny  Khuri 

Used with the permission of Booklist  https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal starred (May 1, 2022) 

Gr 3-5-When moths, the ocean, and a wereduck-all things impacted by the moon-start exhibiting strange behaviors, a scientist working at an observatory notices something incredible: the moon is being eaten by intergalactic rats! When officials at the military headquarters in the Hexagon learn they only have three days to stop the rats or else the moon will be lost altogether, they prepare to send in Project 47: a cat enhanced with microchips in its brain, a cybernetic biotech space suit, and a penchant for pizza. Running gags that manage to stay fresh, clever panel-crossings, and fourth wall-breaking book references are all part of the charming humor of this online experience turned graphic novel. The art is simple but sophisticated, with a rough chalk texture giving it a childlike appearance. The dominant colors of black and cornflower blue are used to represent outer space, but other colors are present-notably warm reds, yellows, and oranges. Many of the characters are anthropomorphic animals; protagonist First Cat never speaks beyond saying "Meow," but meaning is mostly explained via context. Of the humans, there is a mixture of white and BIPOC representation; the General and the scientist appear to be Black. Footnotes are left for readers on where to find music from the story online. VERDICT Readers looking for the outer space high jinks and gentle humor of Brockington's Catstronauts and the imaginative and fantastical worldbuilding of Andrews's This Was Our Pact need look no further than this laugh-out-loud tale of the first cat in space.-Alea Perez © Copyright 2022. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted,

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2022

Additional Reviews Available

• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 04/01/22

• Horn Book Magazine, 07/01/22

• Kirkus Reviews, 03/01/22

• Publishers Weekly starred, 04/11/22