Astrid Atomic Returns in Race From Panet Peril

A new out-of-this-world adventure from Alex T. Smith

Buckle up and get ready to blast off on a brand-new intergalactic Alex T Smith adventure. Following on from the success of Astrid and the Space Cadets, Attack of the Snailiens (published by Pan Macmillan) Astrid and the Space Cadets, Race from Planet Peril, will be hurtling into a book shop near you this week.

Astrid Atomic and her best friends, the Space Cadets, have been given an important mission from the Chief – to retrieve the special trophy for the Supersonic Saturn Race. Tonight, they'll have to fly under boiling hot lava waterfalls, zoom through fields of flaming flowers and sneak past a big, toothy, scary space monster! And things go from bad to worse when they realize that the naughty Dr Boris Uranus on their tail. Will they get to the trophy before time runs out?

With a dazzling foiled cover in an eye-popping starry pallet this richly illustrated fiction title will have young readers entranced and in fits of giggles from start to finish.

(You can hear Alex reading an extract from the first book in the series on Mr Dilly Meets HERE)

This is a taster of our favourite illustrations from Astrid and the Space Cadets, Escape from Planet Peril! You can see more on Alex's project on this link. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Media praise for Astrid;

“Astrid and the Space Cadets made me BEAM with joy, full of OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD characters and illustrations.” - Steven Lenton

“Astrid and the Space Cadets! is just the kind of book I would have loved to read as a child. Alex’s wonderful witty writing is full of humour, adventure and I adore his fabulous character creations – The Snailiens! – genius! "- Jim Field

“A hilarious book for readers beginning to discover what reading for pleasure feels like. This is a cosmic bundle of space fuelled giggles!” - Kate Pankhurst

“Perfect for children who are just beginning to enjoy books independently . . . Astrid and the Space Cadets is imagination at its best” - iNews

“Highly illustrated 6+ galactic fun” - The Guardian

Astrid and the Space Cadets, Danger at the Black Lagoon the third book in the series publishes in April 2025 but in the meantime you can grab a copy or the lastest two titles in ther Astrid series HERE or from your local books shop or library.

Alex lives with a clutch of small dogs and a gaggle of slightly demanding chickens. Working predominantly digitally Alex is a prolific doodler with a passion for fashion, vintage films, interior design and people watching. With a host of awards under his belt and two animated series on the small screen (developed by Sixteen South) Alex still finds time to travel extensively meeting fans of his writing and illustration at events across the UK.

To find out more about collaborating with Alex and his up-coming events schedule please email info@arenaillustration.com (you can read more about Alex’s back catalogue on our news articles HERE)