Binky: License to Scratch

Binky #5

by Ashley Spires

Binky the space cat and his team of space pets are left at the vet's office while their humans are away. Binky plans an escape, only to stumble on a secret experiment that could give vicious aliens the upper hand! It's up to Binky and his friends to save the humans ... and themselves! License to Scratch is the final book in the Binky Adventure series, where dry humour and sci-fi slapstick are mixed with lots of heart.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Animals, Cats, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Picture Books

64 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Ashley has written and illustrated many books, most notably the bestselling The Most Magnificent Thing, which is now a short animated film. She creates books that remind kids that making mistakes is integral to learning. She lives in British Columbia with her dog and a growing army of felines.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinky and friends are so fun!

This crazy adventure has Binky and friends packed up and heading to Pet Hotel (vets) because the family is going on vacation. The pets have a very interesting time there battling aliens. Very cute.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Binky and the gang are back for another humorous adventure. After being dropped off that the vet for boarding while their humans are away, Binky, Gordon, and Gracie have to face down the aliens and the professor who is working on their behalf. Quick, fun read.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While good, this volume wasn't as funny as the earlier volumes in the series. I think that the author couldn't quite come up with a really humorous take on the scenario, which is the pets being left in a boarding facility while their humans go away on a trip.
The good part is that there are some really cute subplots, including the cat who has been living in the nooks and crannies of the vet's office.
Still, fans of the series will enjoy this book. Some of them may be puzzled by the change in tone, but it's still worth reading.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say that our girls love, love, love Binky. I like the stories, but they love them and laugh uproariously at the funny little cat and his adventures. Our girls will run around the house saying "poot!" for days after reading one of these tales. The illustrations are hilarious and the stories are fun, quick reads.

This story takes Binky, Gracie, and Gordie to a 'pet hotel' (the vet) while their humans are away. The narrative is just as humorous as the other stories and we enjoyed reading this book together. I often refuse to read graphic novels aloud because of the format and dialogue, but these stories aren't too hard. Our girls help me with the myriad onomatopoeia throughout the book.

June 2014 update: saw this book at our local library and I was pretty sure we'd read it, but we wanted to reread it anyway. We are hoping that another book of Binky's adventures will come out soon!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that was my favorite Binky adventure

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Binky, Gracie and Gordie are horrified! Their humans are packing to go on vacation! Other than the usual worries (WHO WILL FEED THEM?!?!?!), they are also concerned that their humans will be in outer space undefended from the horrible aliens. But there is worse news to come, the pets are to be boarded at the vet's office while their families are gone! They plan to quickly escape, but more is going on at the vet's than they had thought, so they'll have to use all their Space Pet training to defeat the alien's nefarious plot!

This is probably the most fun I've had reading a Binky book in awhile! Though it suffered from one of my least favorite themes pet abandoned by their people, it managed to rise above this by some truly loving people stepping up. (Also toned down the potty jokes, hooray!)

Content notes: No language or sensuality issues. The pets do fight against the "aliens" (insects), which generally results in minor scraps and bugs on the floor, not graphic.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Binky, Gordie, and Gracie's owners go on vacation they get dropped off at the vet for boarding. They're sure they are doomed to a nightmarish week, but Agents of P.U.R.S.T. aren't going to take a thing like bars laying down. They'll get themselves free and maybe deal with a mad scientist in the process too.

I loved The Great Escape allusion with Binky bouncing the ball against his cage wall. Kids totally won't get that, but the adult classic movie fans will. This one gets Binky out of his space station and seeing a bit more adventure. I love the pets' mindsets about staying at the vet; all too believable. A light secret agent/spy story that's safe for all ages.

Notes on content: Only aliens (aka insects) are injured. Some bathroom humor.

[Alexandria Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fantasy fiction book as it uses a lot of personification on the cats. It is probably for a primary age group.
Text to Self - I have a cat Iris and she absolutely hates the vet! I mean she literally tries escaping much like the cats in the book. ( Not in the same way but she wants to leave and tries.) We have to sedate her to get her to go.
Text to Text- These cats are trying to stop an evil villian and I think of all the buddy movies. They have the talking animals the mission and the bad guy. Some concept different plot.
Text to world- In 1959 two dogs and a rabbit were launched into space by the soviet union. So even though they aren't cats, animals have really been to space like Binky!

[Lauren Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Binky, Gracie and Gordie take a trip to the vet where they are boarded while their humans go out of town for a few days. They plan to break out of the vet’s office when they run into professor Tuffy who works underneath the vet. She was abandoned by her humans so she felt all humans where like that, but when the vet was under attack she felt the need to protect the vet who later gave her a safe home. Binky believes they have been abandoned but then hears his humans coming to take them home. This graphic novel was in the form of a comic book with just enough words to keep the story going. The illustrations were mainly done in black and white, but were supportive to the text. The writer provided captions when needed for sounds or conversations when the text didn’t cover the picture.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. I didn't realize I got the fifth book in the series, but I wasn't a fan. The story was good but I had two problems with it: A. The cats and dog did not talk (seriously that is a big one for me when reading about cats adventures for children in graphic novels) and B. The shape of the cats and dog heads were just plain weird (triangle). I found the fart jokes funny and that's why I gave it two stars instead of one.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last Binky book (that I know of) and it was a great and really fun adventure. Binky, Gordie and Gracie are left at the vet while their humans go on holiday, and boy do these pets try to escape at all costs. They only have bad associations to the vet, so it's understandable, but during their escape they discover an incredible secret. I loved reading about our space cat. They were really adorable graphic novels, something extremely light to read for just a bit of fun.

[Jenna Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t completely understand this book, but it turns out it’s the fifth in the series, so perhaps there are some character and setting development points that I missed out on. The pictures were mostly clear as to what was happening, but almost every single picture had a “sound effect” on it, which were just distracting. Also, the whole story was told in BOTH first person and third person, making it super confusing to read.

[Amy Lafleur Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pet siblings, Binky the cat and Gordie the dog, and their friend Gracie the cat panicked when they find out their humans are going away. They're scared that "their humans are going into deep space unprotected." The pets are off to the pet hotel and determined to escape. Amusing graphic novel for emerging readers and animal lovers.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of funny how just about every line reads like the voice over in a movie trailer. When it's read out load like that, it's enjoyable enough and quite humorous. As always I do enjoy the illustration.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last “Binky” book in the series and the first I’ve read with Noah.
This instalment will pull upon the heartstrings of any cat lover, yet remains true to the ‘space program’ theme of earlier books. Noah loves the sound effects throughout, particularly repetitive “bzzzzzz” ing.

[Jocelyn]

Pretty silly stuff! I’m reading this as a teacher who’s class are all reading graphic novels and this was my choice. I don’t love graphic novels for myself, but I lol’d quite a bit and read it in super fast. It helps to have read the first book in the series a little for context.

[Amanda Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Binky adventures continue with Binky going into pet boarding at the vet. Here Binky meets a cat who turned to the alien side after being abandoned by humans. This Binky adventure lacks some of the cat personality from the previous books but the adventures are delightful.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Binky and friends have laugh out loud adventures when their humans go on vacation. Great fun for emerging and transitional readers!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The team takes a trip to a "pet hotel" where they encounter a villain and his monstrous creation (Frankenstein-like...).

[Mouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was weird and confusing. Even my 8 year old was confused and didn't enjoy it. It felt like there was a lot missing and you had to have read others in the series to know what's going on. Strange characters and the whole alien angle was bizarre.

[Lindsay Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No animals were harmed in the making of this book. A cat had some routine blood work done and a dog was subjected to some foul-tasting leftovers, but that was the extent of it."

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun easy graphic novel to read with your kids. This one is about when Binky and pals get sent to the pet hotel for a few days.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally, as an adult, I didn't like the book very much. However, I can see the attraction for juvenile readers. So have at it, kids.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is funny, cute, and ridiculous.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great beginner graphic novel...sarcastic cats and farting dogs so lots of realistic elements.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to read more graphic novels as they are so popular with students. Binky is for beginning graphic novel readers. Very short, but cute. Kids who love animals are likely to enjoy this.

[Isabel Kosch · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read!