Princess Dagger's mom really is the worst!

Hey there, you guys! Today we're making our way to the Mutant Worm Wrestling Federation Arena. Get this: The MWWF is having this ceremony to honor me for beating the Boss Worm way back when! I knew it was a big deal when I beat the thing, but considering we were kind of in a hurry to eradicate the Ultimate Evil from the galaxy, I didn't really have time to give a victor's speech, you know?

So off we go to the MWWF so I can greet my adoring fans and sell lots of hot dogs! Oh, fine. I don't have adoring fans. Princess Dagger is leaning over my shoulder and watching me type, and she insists I tell you that I don't have adoring fans. Maybe I do, Princess. We'll just see about that at the MWWF Arena, won't we???

Okay, time for our all-new chapter in Galactic Hot Dogs: Book Two!

Aw, man! At the end of Chapter 12 we found out Princess Dagger's mom, the Evil Queen, is totally involved in an evil scheme to create an army of monsters with Crostini and the Wrangler. So Dags and I are there, hanging out in space and eavesdropping on their conversation -- and then all sorts of smudgetastic stuff happens! Find out what goes down in Chapter 13: A Little Bit Space Brained...

All right, I have to go work on my acceptance speech for the MWWF. I wonder if they'll give me a new trophy since I smashed up the old one? Maybe I'll get a medal? I wonder if it'll be like the end of Star Wars when Leia gave Han and Luke their medals!

Yeaaaaaah, that looks about right.

Have an awesome day, you guys!
Cosmoe

Map-o-sphere slices, video games, and…evil?

Hey you guys! How’s it going? This weekend we’re joining in a spaceship food truck bonanza on Oftar 12’s third moon. It should be pretty cool. When we’re not selling dogs, Princess Dagger is psyched to try different foods from around the galaxy, and Humphree’s going to hunt down some new hot sauce ingredients. Me? I’m hoping to find some adventure, as usual!

Let’s dig into our reading marathon — today we’ve got an action-packed chapter to read! When we left off, Dags froze Krax and we escaped the MWWF arena. Phew!

In Chapter 15: Evil Ways, I try to piece the map-o-sphere together, we find out where the final slice is (it’s completely rad), and the Princess has an unwelcome encounter. Yikes! Find out what happens, and then check out…

Today I’ve got some original artwork that’s never been seen before! These are early sketches an illustrator did of Humphree, Dags, and me. You can see she was trying to figure out exactly how we should look in the book.

I think it’s so cool to see how artwork for a book gets created!

Okay, I gotta run. We’re almost to Oftar 12’s moon and we have a lot of setup to do. I want get it done so we have some time to explore the moon — you never know what you’ll find…

Have a rockin’ weekend,

Cosmoe

What would I do without my best buds?

Hey all. As I’ve been flying around intergalactic space this week with Humphree and Princess Dagger, I’ve been thinking about my cruddy buddies and how awesome they are.

Like that one time I had to fight the Boss Worm, Humps and Dags really were clutch in a tight spot. And then, when Dags pulled a fast one on Krax… well, read about it for yourself in Chapter 14: Cosmoe is Crowned! That’s the next installment in our reading marathon, and it’s pretty excellent.

And now it’s time for…

Today I’m going to school you on illustrations and color. Well, really, Rachel is. She’s the illustrator of my book! Check out the next image. Rachel did it when she was figuring out what we should wear.

Rachel did those less-detailed drawings to play with the colors more easily when she was getting Goober's coloring and Dags' dress right. Get this: The clothes we wear in the book show off our unique personalities. How cool is that?

I wear a red shirt in the book because I’m all into adventure and excitement. And jeans because I’m an Earth kid from the USA — what’s more American than jeans, right?

Humphree’s like the voice of reason of our crew. So he’s wearing mellow colors that show he’s usually a calm sort of dude. Usually.

And Princess Dagger? Well, she’s smart, digs adventure, is kind of girly, and can be a teeny bit bossy. (Don’t tell her I said that.) So turquoise is a perfect color for her. 

Pretty cool, huh? I didn’t know how important color is in illustrations! I’m going to be interviewing Rachel soon, so if you’re into drawing and art, you’re going to love what she has to say.

See you here tomorrow for part two of my Max interview!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe

F.R.E.D. to the rescue!

Helloooooo from outer space, everyone! After a long stay on planet Grenzo, the Galactic Hot Dogs crew is back to flying around the galaxy. It’s pretty rad to be back in space, seeing planets and moons from far above. And it’s definitely way cool to go to sleep with a view like this:

photo credit: Cosmic Conifer via photopin (license)

That view last night was courtesy of F.R.E.D. He can always direct us to the best star-gazing views to zonk out to! Speaking of F.R.E.D., in today’s GHD reading marathon chapter, my little robot friend seriously saves my butt. When we left off, I was in a really tight spot. The Boss Worm was squeezing the whats out of me! The situation was grim, people. Find out how I get out of a jam in Chapter 13: Ding!

And now it’s time for…

Let’s talk robots today. Specifically, my favorite flying robot: F.R.E.D.! 

You know that F.R.E.D. is super helpful. But did you know these fun facts about the little guy? He can:

• Be a flashlight
• Give directions, like a GPS
• Become a video game system
• Hack into computers
• Toast hot dog buns
• Speak to other robots in 10,010 languages
• Be a TV or radio
• Do pretty much anything!

I don’t know what I’d do without F.R.E.D. I just wish he were a little better at cleaning. If I never had to clean the ship again, I’d be one happy Cosmoe!

Have a great day you guys,

Cosmoe

When Mutant Worm Wrestling goes very, very wrong

Wow, you guys. It’s been quite a day here on Grenzo. Get this: A vacationing alien who was chowing down on hot dogs insisted that Humphree’s hot sauce wasn’t hot enough. He kept adding more and more helio jalapeños to his hot dog.

Humps tried to warn the dude to ease up, but he wouldn’t. One thing led to another, and, well, let’s just say the alien found out the hard way that too many jalapeños can have some, um, internally explosive side effects. Good thing the dude has five stomachs. Yikes.

So, our next chapter in our GHD reading marathon is all about that one time I went to a Mutant Worm Wrestling match as a spectator — and then I ended up being a participant! That doofus Krax electrozapped me and threw me in the ring with the Boss Worm, whose tagline is, “After he beats you, he eats you.” Whaaaat? How am I NOT going to get devoured by a mutant worm? Read Chapter 12: The Boss Worm to see what happens!

And now it’s time for…

Since we had a pretty wacked-out alien encounter today, I thought I’d tell you a little about the aliens that appear in the book. Check this out:

Some of them look familiar, right? You can find a bunch of these guys in the book. The illustrators did a lot of careful work to get them right.

Out here in space, most aliens don’t have two eyes, two arms, and two legs like us. Their planets have totally different atmospheres and environments from Earth, which means aliens evolved differently.

On our planet, walking around on two legs makes sense. But where Nitrams come from (Alien “A” above), having multiple legs makes sense. Our little human feet would just stick to the ground on a Nitram’s planet, but Nitrams can easily scurry along. Seems weird to us, but Earth would seem weird to them!

Have a great weekend, everyone. I’ll be here on Grenzo for a little while longer, warning other goofy aliens not to lose a stomach from too many helio jalapenos!

Stay awesome,

Cosmoe

Why General Krax von Grumble is the WORST

Hi everyone! Have you ever been to a sports event that you were so pumped about, you thought you might explode from the excitement? That’s me when I go to a Mutant Worm Wrestling match! The action is totally intense and out of this world. Princess Dagger is a pretty big fan, too, as you can see!

In our next chapter of our reading marathon, you’ll see why Mutant Worm Wrestling rocks — and you’ll also meet the ridic General Krax von Grumble. He’s a toenail-chewing, electro-zapping, big villain type. And wait until you see what he does to me! Yikes! Check out Chapter 11: M.W.W.F. to find out what happens!

And now it's time for...

I’ve got some pretty cool Krax illustrations for you. The guy might be a nugget-brain, but I also think he’d be pretty tough to draw with his weird beard, weapons, and all that stuff. The illustrators really captured the essence of his doofy villainous self, you know?

Early illustrations of Krax

Here the artist was trying to figure out exactly how to draw Krax's weapon

Final design of Krax

He’s mean looking and yet completely lame at the same time. Man, I can’t stand that guy.

Okay, I gotta run. Hot dogs are calling my name. Or maybe that’s Humphree.

See you later,

Cosmoe

Chore charts? You’ve GOT to be kidding.

Hello from the MWWF Arena! That’s the Mutant Worm Wrestling Federation, in case you didn’t know. This place is awesome. But I was a little nervous about coming back here, to be totally honest. I have some not-so-fun memories of this place. But as soon as we got here, I got over it. I mean, mutant worms. That wrestle. How cool is that?! Right now we’re selling hot dogs nearby, but after that? It’s wrestlemania time!

Okay, let’s get back to our way-cool reading marathon. It’s time for Chapter 6: The Pirate Band. Things don’t start out so great when the Princess decides that Humps and I live like slobs and comes up with … a chore chart?! What the fuzz?! But then we make a pretty nifty discovery. So I guess cleaning up might be a good idea sometimes. Sometimes. Not often. Don’t want the Princess to get any ideas and go on some crazy organizing binge or something. Gah!

And what’s today’s never-seen-before art? Well, since me and the gang are hanging at the MWWF Arena, today we’re all about creepy creatures! Take a look at some of these freaky oddballs that an illustrator designed for the book:

Blobs. Blech.

Other-worldly hyenas with scary big teeth.

The monster known as King Kong. Yikes.

A bunch of random creepy monsters that scare the whats out of me.

I would NOT want to come face-to-face with any of those. Yeeks!

Gotta run and sling some dogs so we can get over to the last MWWF match of the day. It’s King Worm vs. Predator Worm. That’s a whole lot of big, slimy worm in one arena. Gross.

Gross … but awesome!

Have a great weekend,

Cosmoe

PS: If you’re a educator or parent type, you might want to take a look at this Galactic Hot Dogs reading log. Kids can check off the chapters as they read GHD, and list other books they’re reading, too. Cool!