The Astro-Nuts are a secret explorer group sponsored by NNASA (Not the National Aeronautic and Space Agency). Four animals have been made into super explorers designed to find the next planet that humanity can live on. There’s Alphawolf (the leader), SuperHawk (the planner), LaserShark (nurse, security, chef), and Stinkbug (pilot, engineer). Their rocket lives in Thomas Jefferson’s nose on Mount Rushmore, and the catalyst for their mission is that we have exceeded 400 PPM of CO2 in the atmosphere. On The Water Planet, we travel to a mostly aquatic planet, where tests are derailed by politicians telling us that everything is fine and great, appealing to Alphawolf’s ego, but secretly a revolution is brewing from the underclass.

Each book is packed with environmental facts. The Planet Earth narrates sections, and she lets you know how humanity has screwed up the environment and continues to do so. You’ll also see the scientific method in action, and see how we test things over and over again to come to facts. One of my favorite parts are the gorgeous collage illustrations. Weinberg uses art from the Rijksmuseum (Dutch National Museum) that you can find online and then colored it. He explains the process in the back of the book. There is also a bit of potty humor in these books too, as Stinkbug just can’t help himself sometimes.

These books are perfect for fans of Sciezka’s other books (like Time Warp Trio), Captain Underpants, and other zany tales. Book one (Plant Planet) in the series is already out, and The Water Planet comes out in August.