Sixth-grader Corona enjoys her status as class president in the Cosmos Institute student council, while at home her father and younger brother are fanatically devoted to the television show "Space Patrol." Imagine her chagrin when reaching out to her odd classmate Lan results in Corona getting recruited into the real Space Patrol lly costumes, weird gadgets, swan-like spaceships and all. It's bad enough that she has to secretly work for the Space Patrol, but now Corona has to pretend to be a new fan, which makes her father and brother happy while confusing her friends at school. She also has to keep up with schoolwork and her responsibilities as class president. This manga series is in full color, and creator Yamamoto uses a retro art style that recalls old anime series. There's plenty of action and humor both in space and in school, and younger elementary-school-age readers will see that girls can get into just as many adventures as boys can.

Gr 4-6 Corona Hoshino is the epitome of a good class president: shes popular, hardworking, and a big people-pleaser. This last trait is what compels her to bond with nerdy Lan Tsukishima over a boring, dorky TV show. Though shes just trying to cheer him up by pretending to like Space Patrol , Lan takes her seriously and recruits her to become part of the real Space Patrol. Thats right, the show is just PR for humans. The hope is that it will ease them into accepting space travel and aliens. At first, Corona resists the training, but once she realizes that the cadets keep score, shes in it to be Unfortunately, Lan and the instructor are hopelessly lazy, which means that Corona has to work that much harder. Funny and teeth-gnashingly cute, this full-color manga is sure to appeal to lots of readers. The Space Patrol is filled with silly aliens and pretty swan boats that serve as spaceships. Going with Corona to discover what lies in the vast reaches of space is great fun. Sadie Mattox, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA