The Otherworldly Adventures of Tyler Washburn: The New Kid

Cole has worked as a concept artist and matte painter on such films as Avatar, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, so it's no surprise that his children's book debut has a strong sense of place, both on Earth and the extraterrestrial worlds its hero visits. Tyler is a determined, if not always successful, inventor, and his outside-the-box thinking earns him a spot at the STAR academy, a school "founded to promote intergalactic peace" and populated by aliens from across the universe. Cole's polished artwork is the main draw%E2%80%94his spreads could be stills from a 3-D animated film. The plot focuses on Tyler's school-day adventures, drifting from one gee-whiz %E2%80%A8scenario to the next (an episode in which Tyler and his new friends are nearly stranded on a planet covered with floating "phyllopods" offers the only real narrative tension). The story is mainly a vehicle to showcase Cole's talent at creating a diverse cast of blobby aliens, evocative planets, and far-future technology. An app version of Tyler's story is available simultaneously. Ages 4%E2%80%93up. (Dec.)