Stuck on Earth: Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century #5

by Marilyn Sadler

21st Century #4

Meet Zenon Kar. She’s your typical elementary school kid, except she lives on a space station in 2049!
In book #4, Zenon’s teacher, Mr. Peres, leads her fifth-grade class on a very special field trip off of Space Station 9. But when she gets separated from the group, Zenon finds out what it’s like to be stuck on Earth! The Zenon books are written and illustrated by the award-winning husband and wife team who created P.J. Funnybunny and Alistair.

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2002

About the author

With a degree in fine arts, Marilyn Sadler assumed she would be an illustrator. But when early in her career she was presented with an opportunity to write, she seized it and quickly discovered that she had found her true love. No sad, sappy stories for her, however. She likes to make herself laugh, and with that her characters usually end up looking pretty silly for one reason or another.

Her first children’s book featured a fastidious little English boy named Alistair Grittle and was originally created for the English publisher, Hamish Hamilton, as well as for Simon & Schuster in the United States. Having created a boy with such perfect behavior, she then turned her attention to a not so perfectly behaved little boy. His name was P.J. Funnybunny, and he has existed in a series of books for Random House, including the highly prestigious Dr. Seuss Cat In the Hat series.

Marilyn’s television credits include two PBS Reading Rainbow programs featuring Alistair, an Alistair program for the BBC, three ABC Weekend Specials featuring P.J. Funnybunny, and a show based on her children’s book, "Elizabeth and Larry", for Showtime’s Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories.

Between 1999 and 2004, The Disney Channel produced three Original Movies based on her book, "Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century". Each of Disney’s Zenon movies had exceptionally high ratings, with Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century and Zenon the Zequel among the highest rated shows in the history of The Disney Channel.

In 2004, Playhouse Disney began production on Marilyn and Roger Bollen's animated series, Handy Manny. Handy Manny premiered September 16, 2006, as the highest rated Playhouse Disney series premiere of all time. In 2009, Marilyn was nominated for an Emmy Award as Executive Producer of Handy Manny.

Reviews

[Centauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know its a children's book, but these adults are some of the most careless folks ever.
SPOILER ALERT
How does a kid sneak out in the middle of the night? And how did no adult question these kids being out alone at all hours of the night? The future seems irresponsible.

[Kaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ceedus-Lupeedus, cool your boosters!
3.5 stars

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Another well-written and exciting adventure with Zenon. I couldn't completely get behind the plot of this one in which Zenon and Nebula sneak off during a field trip to Earth. Zenon does learn her lesson in the end, but her actions were pretty serious. Taking a more lighthearted approach, the book is a fun adventure that involves a lot of quick-thinking and help from others.

As with the other books, this one includes great illustrations which pair nicely with the text. At the end an updated version of Zenon's Guide to Space Station Slang, which is very helpful while reading.

This is the fourth book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone (though the other books are very good and I recommend reading them).

[Anne Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok