What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation

Teddy isn't looking forward to summer school in What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation by Adam Beechen and Dan Hipp. His parents have signed him up for Summer Science, which to him, isn't as exciting as it could be. He's more interested in spaceships and traveling by the speed of light. Luckily for him, on the far distant planet Manoosh, a young alien prince snatches a magical crystal from the throne room, transporting him to Earth. Teddy and the alien switch places, hoping to find excitement in each other's stead. Unfortunately, Teddy teleports to the alien planet just as the mutiny has reached its breaking point, and civil war brims.

Recommended for ages nine and up, What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation is a fun, light-hearted adventure reminiscent of works by Bruce Coville such as I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, and Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's The Edge Chronicles series. The aliens are never grossly scary, the violence never results in gory death, and the ending is as satisfying as a plate full of Krikkrik Nightfeelers.

One part that kind of disappointed me was that the back cover synopsis tried to trick the reader. It mentioned that "one boy [Teddy] attempts to stop a coup on an alien planet and an alien boy attempts to fit in on ours." This is misleading in that the focus of What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation is on Teddy on Manoosh. There is one short scene where the alien boy introduces himself to Teddy's parents, but that's all we see of him on Earth. I would have liked to see the juxtaposition of him dealing with summer camp in regards to a war on an alien planet.

All the illustrations are done by Dan Hipp, and they add a lot of fun to the book. Stylish, black and white images grace each chapter, often capturing a specific scene perfectly. Kids will enjoy them as visual guides, and the aliens look pretty neat. A fun adventure with lots of detailed characters, fun creatures, and flashy gadgets, this will be a great read for kids who might not be looking forward to their summer reading.