'Space Taxi' takes another spin

BY ROSE SGARLATO
SPARTA — Local authors Michael Brawer and Wendy Mass are releasing the fourth book in their children’s series “Space Taxi.”
The couple paid a visit to Alpine Elementary School on April 26 where they introduced first and second graders to their latest title — “Space Taxi: The Galactic B.U.R.P.” The main character Archie Morningstar, an 8-year-old, goes to another level in this story, visiting a planet of dogs.
“Archie goes on his own to the planet and gets caught up with B.U.R.P -the mother ship and evil organization,” Mass said.
Archie’s father and cat Pockets also come into play with special glasses that allow them to see him. This is Archie’s most independent journey so far, said the authors.
“We wanted to show that he is getting more responsibility, but he knows that he has the support of Dad,” Mass said.
The adventurous storyline geared towards first to third graders also includes humor and science facts.
The married couple has reached a successful formula when creating their books. After brainstorming the plot together, Brawer writes the initial outline. Mass then writes a first draft that Brawer edits. The back and forth collaboration was laid out for the Alpine students.
“We explain how a book writing process works from the initial idea to the time it is in their hands,” Mass said “ And we show how our own cat provided inspiration too.”
The students also get to see how the actual illustrations in the book are conceived and developed.
Mass is quite pleased with the reviews on the Space Taxi books. She noted one review about the third book from the San Diego Book Review, as seen on her Facebook page:
“Space Taxi: Archie’s Alien Disguise is an early reader story done right. Everything about this book is beautifully crafted from the wacky, colorful characters and chuckle-worthy dialogue to the clutter-free exposition that zooms along at rocket speed. The humor is genuine and clean.”
“Space Taxi: B.U.R.P. Strikes Back” is the fifth installment and will be available in September. And the authors are currently working on the sixth one.
“Space Taxi” will be readily available soon at Costco where the chain is bundling the first four books into one. In total this will be Mass’s 18th title. Known for her many books that appeal to fourth graders and up, Mass just finished writing another sequel “The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase.”