Of course, there’s plenty of other things to love, too – these are gorgeously drawn stories, with crafty villains and impossible predicaments. Zita, Pizzicato (aka Mouse) and Glissando This theme of friendship and loyalty – not just from Zita towards her friends, but from her friends towards Zita – is at the core of these graphic stories and what I admire so much about these books. More importantly, she is incredibly loyal to her friends – from the hapless Joseph, to a mouse who can communicate through written scraps of paper, to an actual pied piper, to robots who possess both too much and too little self-confidence. Brave, and a little bit rash (there’s a great moment in The Return of Zita the Spacegirl when she’s being charged for crimes because she didn’t think through some of the consequences), Zita does not shy away from adventure. Of course, along the way, she has plenty of adventures, including but not limited to: an impending asteroid, an impostor Zita robot, some nasty star hearts, and an evil dungeon master. Over the course of these three graphic novels ( Zita the Spacegirl, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl and The Return of Zita the Spacegirl), Zita is on a very basic mission: to go home. This, in a nutshell, is why I love Zita the Spacegirl. So what does Zita do? She pushes the button again, and jumps in to find her friend. Joseph is captured by a tentacled, helmeted alien and whisked off to a planet far, far away – leaving Zita (who pushed the button in the first place!) devastated.

Savior of planets! Darling and demon of the intergalactic media! Prisoner and prison escape architect!Ī young, ordinary-seeming girl from the ordinary planet Earth, Zita jumps headlong into adventure when she and her friend Joseph find a mysterious button that falls out of the sky. Just trying to hold things together while you find your way.

My Favorite Thing About Zita the Spacegirl In celebration of the publication of the third and final book in the series, The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, we are talking about why we love Zita so much! “As this fine adventure comes to its final pages, Hatke leaves the door just a bit ajar for more interstellar exploits.We are thrilled to be a part of the official blog tour for Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl trilogy – a graphic novel series for young readers about an intrepid, adventurous young heroine named Zita (who has many adventures, as one might imagine, in outer space). Fans of the series: Don't miss this.” - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Hatke's storytelling and worldbuilding are top-notch, ebulliently juxtaposed against vibrantly expressive art.

The return of zita the spacegirl