Chump the chimp from Central Park Zoo, New York, USA has been blasted into space! Humankind want to know how well he’ll do out in space as he travels round the Earth. When all goes well, Chump decides to have a celebratory banana, with disastrous results!

Earth can’t help him now as he wakes up 50 years in the future. Standing in front of him is a dog. He looks angry and claims to be a Hellhound of Space. Named Dimitri, he tells Chump he’s a notorious space pirate and is feared across galaxies. Chump being Chump just shrugs his shoulders, much to Dimitri’s disgust.

Dimitri was blasted into space many years before by humankind, but when he realised there were no plans to bring him home, he rebelled and stalked the galaxy attacking and taking ships to add to his own. Chump is his latest conquest, and soon to be one of his worst. Chump isn’t the brightest chimp in space, or on Earth, or even in the zoo he came from.

Chump’s next disaster takes Dimitri with him, until they are both captured by other space pirates. Their ship is incredibly unique, but the captain and crew are even more so. How will Chump and Dimitri ever escape these blood suckers?

A voice comes from deep space. A voice intending on rescue. But despite their emergency rescue title, there is no emergency speed in their rescue. Are they too to be added to Chump’s long line of disastrous events?

But just when Chump and his new space mates think something is finally going right, they find something very very wrong. A giant gerbil? What the heck? Can they work together this time to prevent a disaster of galactic proportions?

David Walliams is back, but this time it’s in full colour graphic novel format. Over the decades, countries around the world have blasted animals into space to help determine if it will be safe for humans to do so. There were fruit flies, a gerbil, dog, cat and more.

David Walliams has brought them all together in a funny, sometimes silly, but always entertaining tale of Chump the Chimp and his adventure in space.

Chump was one of the lucky ones, as Earth intended for him to return, but many others had no way home. This has built resentment and revenge in multiple mammals, but others have taken the opposite route – policing the galaxy. This mish-mash of good and bad intentions brings even more laughs among the stars.

There is action aplenty, as they surf asteroids, grapple with black holes, save a giant gerbil, not to mention Earth, all while having a great time. Chump is oblivious to the danger most of the time, but does save the day more than once.

A bright, fun, colourful read with an interesting afterword.

Author – David Walliams

Illustrator – Adam Stower

Graphic Novel

Age – 6+

Find more reviews of David Walliams’ novels here

(2024, Harper Collins, Graphic Novel, Animals, Chimpanzee, Dog, Cat, Tortoise, Fruit Flies, Gerbil, Space, Orbit, Spaceships, Space Pirate, Humour, Funny, Silly, Rescue Mission, Kidnap, Adventure, Disasters, Accidents, Deep Space, Return to Earth, Sci Fi, Action, Black Hole, Revenge)