Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery

Captain Raptor

by Kevin O'Malley, Patrick O'Brien (Illustrator)

The planet Jurassica is in an uproar. An unidentified flying object has crashed into the mysterious moon of Eon. This looks like a job for ... CAPTAIN RAPTOR! ... hero of a thousand space missions; champion of truth, justice, and dinosaurs in space throughout the galaxy! If anyone can solve the terrible moon mystery, it's Captain Raptor and his fearless crew!

Genres: Picture Books, Science Fiction, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Kevin O'Malley is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
He also has visited hundreds and hundreds of schools.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite boy books. The art is BEAUTIFUL.

First time I read this to my son, who was then maybe 3, he responded to the old-timey rhetorical "Could this be the end of Captain Raptor?" by whispering "No!" When I asked him why he thought it wasn't the end, he said, "Because there's a lot more pages!"

One note on the art: this was the first time Kevin O'Malley, a respected illustrator in his own right, worked with artist Patrick O'Brien. So, he says, he came up with the hardest thing he could think of - a spaceship being attacked by a giant squid - just to see how good this O'Brien fellow was.

Pat's a friend of ours, and when he told me on the playground that his next book was going to be 'dinosaurs in space,' I groaned and rolled my eyes. "What, no pirates?" I think I said. What do I know - Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery is fantastic, and there are pirates in the sequel!

[James Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

8 year old James: You're going to check this out, right?
Adult James: I can say it's for work and work related research!
8 year old James: Ya damn skippy.

[Brenda Lower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stuff. :) It was like a mixture of Spaceman Spiff (from Calvin and Hobbs) and Dinotopia (beautiful illustrations!) and Star Trek (think dramatic Shatner) and Saturday morning cartoons (Is this the end of Captain Raptor???). Loads of fun and drama, great illustrations, made me laugh. Not necessarily good little kid materials, but would be fun for older ages.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is basically Flash Gordon and Star Trek but with Dinosaurs. It is cheesey, funny, could have been written by Calvin and Hobbes, and I loved every page of it. I mean you have a heroic Velociraptor with a jet pack!

[Katie Banasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the art a little distracting but it was so cute and fun! My nephew will love it!

[deedee watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

captain raptor slays

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Calvin (of Hobbes) grew up, this is the book he would've written as an adult.

Also it is -beautifully- illustrated. I am super sad that there are only two of them.

[Tom Bochnak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like a comic book, but it's for younger readers, who might not have enough stamina to finish a whole comic book. Captain Raptor is a typical superhero with no flaws; he only looks out for his crew and even strangers. The book would be great to read to younger readers as well because the action scenes are a lot of fun. A fun, lively reader could really make the pictures and text come alive. There's points where the book pauses, and you could really fill the air with anticipation at these parts.

The downside would be the vocabulary. I can't imagine 2nd graders knowing "jettisoned". Luckily, the book isn't filled with too many unknown vocabulary words. I could see a student reading this to themselves and just skipping over the big words.

The book doesn't have any complicated themes. It's easy, light reading for younger readers. Sometimes books should be like that right?

[Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Captain Raptor, a dinosaur, who travels to the Moon of Eon to find the mysterious object that crashed into it. Upon arriving at the moon of eon he and is group encounter “aliens” (humans) and they join forces to destroy the “mysterious object”.

Although, I am not a big fan of comic-books, dinosaurs, and astronaut theme books, I found this book to be very enjoyable and will motivate my students to want to read, specially boys.

This book is great for young readers, ages 4- 7, who love dinosaurs and astronauts, especially boys. The illustrations are comic-book style. It is full of adventure and every couple of pages there is a cliffhanger when children can make predictions throughout the book. This book will engage young readers, and they will want to continue reading more of Captain Raptors adventures.

[Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't always rate and review every single picture book I read, but I do when the book is extra special, and I think a book about dinosaurs in space is special enough. And I didn't even realize there were more Captain Raptor books until after reading this one, and I was absolutely ecstatic. The story is about the titular character, Captain Raptor, and his crew as they go to the moon, Eon, of their home planet, Jurassica, after a mysterious flash of light seemingly hits the moon. Even though the title calls it a mystery, the story isn't much of a mystery, just a short adventure story. It almost feels like an introductory comic book because of the genre, story, panels, and captions. I would honestly really love to have seen a full-size graphic novel about Captain Raptor and his buddies as they go on wacky adventures in space. My favorite part of the book (after the dinosaurs of course) was how whenever Captain Raptor would be in danger the book would say: "Could this be the end of Captain Raptor?" And I would be lying if I said I didn't eat it all up. Some people might find this kind of dumb, but I loved it and will be reading all the other Captain Raptor book as soon as possible.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Raptor and his crew are activated to go find whatever crashed into the moon of their planet Jurassica. Can they do it?

Captain Raptor and his crew are all dinosaurs of various kinds. Their journey faces numerous challenges and there are several times when things don't look too good for the heroes. I like how helpful and kind Captain Raptor and his crew are, even when they encounter strange aliens. The plotline of this seemed to borrow quite a few points from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in parts. Not that that's bad or anything, just something I noticed. The illustrations in this are stunning. You are 100% justified in picking this up to look at the pictures, though who can resist a daring space adventuring dinosaur crew? The vocabulary and topic lend this more to the middle grade reader, though I'm sure the cover alone will have much younger kids picking it up.

[Luke Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a mysterious flying object lands on the moon of the planet Jurassica, Captain Raptor and his space crew go to investigate. After the crew is subjected to several different perils they finally make it to the moon and discover that the aliens that landed their were actually a human space crew. The two species make unlikely friends and the dinosaurs help the humans with their spaceship in order to make it home. Although the book is of the science-fiction genre the story wasn't as believable as I felt it could've been. Some of the dangers that Captain Raptor and his crew had to go through felt too easily achieved. It is a great story for young readers, and it reminded me of my childhood when I loved anything dinosaurs, so part of the reason I enjoyed it was for nostalgic reasons.

[Dan Hyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spacefaring dinosaurs having adventures, what could be better? Even though this is probably aimed at 3-5th grade boys, my girls who are 5 enjoyed it.

Great dialog and reads like a B-grade movie which will turn some people off, but I thought that it was great.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful installment of captain Raptor. I loved the conversion of the ship into undersea mode and the encounter the “aliens”. My 3 y/o just woke up and is “reading” this to himself in bed and having a great time.

[Caylie Ratzlaff · Rating 4 out of 5]

look, of course I’m counting the wacky picture books I got at the library book sale because like…who wouldn’t count these?? Anyways, I HAD to read them before putting them in my classroom (or giving them to Carter).

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gloriously retro, wonderfully illustrated. Just the kind of pulpy comics I want my kiddo to be reading - "Could THIS be the end of our heroes????"

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't use this for storytime, but the comic layout and plot of this book made it very enjoyable for both my husband and me. Space dinosaurs for the win!

[Tom M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange aliens crash land on a nearby moon. THIS is a job for Captain Raptor and his courageous crew!

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinosaurs and 50's-style sci fi adventure. Will this be the end of Captain Raptor?

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an original idea! Dinosaurs in space for the win! I especially loved their encounter with the aliens and that the interaction wasn't violent in nature. Looking forward to reading the rest. :)

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action-packed sci-fi adventure. Ridiculously high appeal. Recommended for ages 5-8.

[Michael Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the Retro Sci-Fi Pulp atmosphere and aesthetic of this short story. Even though it's presented as a picture book, anyone can get a kick out of it.

[Amber Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

DINOSAURS IN SPACE..
If I'm a 30-y.o. woman who thinks this is the coolest book ever, imagine how a 9-y.o. boy would feel. Gonna recommend this to every parent who comes in the store.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember that "Tyrannosaurs in F-14s" gag from Calvin and Hobbes? It's like that, but in space.

[Tiffanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredible artwork

[Kyle Fennell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my son while doing my best star trek original series voices 🤣 we had fun, it's a great book

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gas as fuck

[Shanea Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is science fiction and intended for ages 6 and up. It is a very amazing adventure that has a famous captain that always gets the job of solving mysteries. At the end Captain Raptor and his crew help the humans they label as aliens to get back home. I rated this book 5 stars because it was filled with anticipation, excitement, and entertainment that keep a reader on their feet throughout the whole book. Normally when I read the books I just be wanting to hurry up and get to the end, but I was so anxious to see what will happen next. The thrill of this book was so on point. For the most part seems like the cartoon adventure show with added science I watch with my son, not just a book. Illustration was so detailed, engaging, on point, and matched the story. Another, thing I like about the illustration looks like it was an action comic. This book would be very appealing to young children because young children like action graphics of science and aliens. Also, it has the similarities of show they might watch on television. Another, reason would because they are animals in the story that do human like stuff. I would use this book to show fun science fiction and show how interesting things of that nature can be. Furthermore, I can use it to show to show that you never know who you might can help and to be open minded.

[NS- Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

When President of Jurassica announced that they must call Captain Raptor because there is a mysterious flash of light- I was uninterested. The sad part was that this occurred after only two pages. I can definitely see the appeal for children, especially boys, but I am not a science fiction lover and this book reminded me of just that. I think this book is ideal for younger readers however would be great for an intermediate elementary student who needs a high-interest, low-level book. This book combines dinosaurs and outer space which are two huge areas of interest for young boys. I also could see this book being used for making predictions. A few times during the story the narrator says, "Could this be the end of Captain Raptor and his fearless crew?" I foresee some creative predictions based o the crazy events of the story. This book is not my cup of tea but it reminded me to not allow my opinions to get in the way when choosing potential books for students.

[Magila · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

This book was a happy surprise. What is not to love about dinosaurs and spaceships? My wife was not a huge fan, but even she pointed out that any boy would love this book.

It's rendered in a comic book style, with fairly excellent illustrations. Sure, this book is a little far fetched, and silly (for mixing space with dinosaurs), but who cares. It's imaginative. And there are a few nice messages along with a general funness that will inspire wonder and amazement.

The names in the book are also amazing, speaking of amazing. They are, we were up late one night and we all cracked up because of how epically creative we became - amazing.

Boys will die to have this book read to them as a bedtime story. I just hope that the author/artists continue on with this series and make a number of Captain Raptor books. This book got the round up bump because more people need to pick it up.

Recommend.