ABSOLUTE ZEROS

Three kids attending a run-down space camp in Florida learn valuable lessons, even without all the fancy gizmos.

Camp Launchpad, which has seen better days, welcomes a group of young summer campers, including new podmates Mark Maxon, who reads Black, is the vice president’s son, and is good at flying drones; brown-skinned scholarship recipient Pete Duarte, who’s handy with tools; and aspiring leader Valerie Hermans, who appears white and whose mom is an astronaut. The Launchpadders must put up with unreliable technology, bad food, and a pool that has an alligator living in it. How can they compete in the annual inter-camp Space Race when they’re up against slick, glamorous, well-funded competitors? Fortunately, they have dedicated adult trainers in the forms of Dr. Rhea Hae, a NASA mission planner who’s cued East Asian, and Colonel Gage McGuff, a Black military pilot. They help prepare the campers for all the disastrous things that can occur during a space mission. With each activity they fail, Mark, Pete, and Val learn to function better as a team, developing selflessness and mutual trust. Their obnoxious rivals turn their pod name, A-Zero, into “Absolute Zeros,” but they don’t let the bullying stop them from doing their best—and even trying to save their camp. The cartoonlike art, clean backgrounds, and bright palette support a fast-paced story that weaves in interesting space facts.

An appealing and uplifting underdog tale.