Anonymous, Thomas on the Moon (Jellybean Books, 2001)
We have achieved brainoff.
I should probably give Thomas on the Moon points for honesty, at least; it does not at all try to hide the fact that it was, as the saying goes, written by committee. The illustrator listed is “DRi Artworks” and no author is attributed. The best way to avoid scorn for pumping out mass-produced nonsense, I guess, is not to attach a name to it. This certainly qualifies as mass-produced nonsense; more attention was paid to making sure the book touched on the hallmarks of the animated television series than to the storyline. This has the distinct odor of that type of book the late, lamented Tokyopop (who did a series like this based on the Hannah Montana TV show) called “cine-manga”, and it’s about is in-depth and interesting. The one thing I can usually find to say good about pre-lit like this is that the books are well-constructed, but in this case, I can’t even say that; it’s flimsy to the point where I’ve already had to tape up the spine, and it’s not something that gets a huge amount of airplay. Pass this one up for any of the myriad other, better Thomas books out there. *
Popcorn for Breakfast 