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Cover of Star Cat: Unicorns in Space!
Graphic · ages 7–10

Star Cat: Unicorns in Space!

Written by James Turner · Illustrated by Yasmin Sheikh

Book 3 of 3 in Star CatView the full series

A third Star Cat collection mixing space adventure with unicorn absurdity and QR-code-enhanced Phoenix-style comic silliness.

  • Best for7–10
  • FormatGraphic
  • Length208 pp
  • Read aloud~1 hr40 min
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The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

  • Conversational
  • Comedic

Tone

  • Funny
  • Silly
  • Absurdist
  • Adventurous
  • Exciting

Themes

On the pageunicorns in space, space adventure, ss star cat, visual gags, absurd aliens, phoenix comic, qr codes

Experience meters

Energy5/ 5
Humour5/ 5
Scariness1/ 5
Peril2/ 5
Wonder4/ 5
Cosiness2/ 5
Emotional intensity1/ 5
Conceptual intensity2/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

Space has never been especially sensible aboard the SS Star Cat, and Unicorns in Space! pushes the series' cheerful ridiculousness even further. Captain Spaceington and the crew encounter strange cosmic problems, visual gags and impossible creatures.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 7
  • 9
  • 11
  • 13
  • Best fit · 7–10
  • Read aloud · 7–10
  • Independent · 7–10

Prose load

Light

Visual support

Very high

Reluctant-reader friendly

Very

Read-aloud quality

Workable

Works well for

  • Reluctant readers
Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime

Sensitive-child

4 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

1 / 5 · None

Best for

  • Funny graphic novel
  • Space comedy
  • Unicorns
  • Reluctant readers
  • Absurd humour

Avoid if

  • Wants realistic stories
  • Wants calm bedtime
  • Dislikes absurd humour

Particularly good for children who are…

  • Reluctant reader
  • Struggling with reading
  • Interested in science

In the classroom

How it works in school.

A wacky sci-fi comic series — a reluctant-reader pleaser and classroom-library staple.

Classroom role

  • Classroom library

A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

The specific delight is the unicorns — yes in space, the SS Star Cat's chaos mixing with magical creatures and impossible cosmic problems, QR-code-enhanced Phoenix silliness on the page. The third Star Cat collection.

  • Adventure and freedom
  • Animal companions
  • Secret world
  • Magic powers

Why parents love it

The third Star Cat — unicorn-absurdity layered on top of the space comedy, late-series formula still firing. Reliable continuation for the established Phoenix-Comic reader.

  • Shared humour
  • Quick to read

In the series

Star Cat.

3 books · open the series →

About the creators

About the creators.

JT

James Turner

Writer · United Kingdom

James Turner is a British comics writer-artist who came up through The Phoenix Comic, where he created the Star Cat space-comedy series (Star Cat, …A Turnip in Time!, …Unicorns in Space!) and the Toby and the Pixies chapter books. Turner's voice is dry, slightly absurd, science-fictional and densely-jokey, in the British comics tradition that includes Jamie Smart and Neill Cameron. Star Cat in particular is a reliable reluctant-reader gateway for ages 6–10, with broad-stroke space-opera plotting, very funny dialogue and the gleeful chaos of Phoenix-Comic comics. A core contemporary UK middle-grade comics author for funny-bone children.

More from James Turner
YS

Yasmin Sheikh

Illustrator · Netherlands

Yasmin Sheikh is a Dutch illustrator best known to UK children's-book readers as the visual partner on James Turner's Star Cat space-comedy graphic-novel series (Star Cat, Star Cat: A Turnip in Time!, Star Cat: Unicorns in Space!). Sheikh's style is clean-lined, bright and character-driven, well-matched to Turner's dry science-fictional comedy in the Phoenix-Comic British comics tradition. A reliable contemporary middle-grade graphic-novel illustrator for ages 6–10.

More from Yasmin Sheikh

If you liked this

Three ways out of this book.

If you liked this, try…

Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.

Come into this from…

Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.

Where to go next…

Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.

Buy or borrow

Pick up a copy.

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Last reviewed · April 2026Suggest a correctionHow we recommend

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