Akiko on the Planet Smoo (12 page)

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR AND
I
LLUSTRATOR

Mark Crilley
was raised in Detroit, where his parents allowed him to indulge his habit of telling tall tales from a very early age. After graduating from Kalamazoo College in 1988, he traveled to Taiwan and Japan, where he taught English to students of all ages for nearly five years. It was during his stay in Japan in 1992 that he created the story of Akiko and her journey to Smoo. First published as a comic book in 1995, the bimonthly Akiko series has since earned Crilley numerous award nominations, as well as a spot on
Entertainment Weekly
's “It List” in 1998.
Akiko on the Planet Smoo
is Crilley's first work of fiction for young readers.

Mark Crilley lives with his wife, Miki, in Royal Oak, Michigan, just a few miles from the streets where he was raised.

Delacorte Press

Published by Delacorte Press
an imprint of
Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036

Copyright © 2000 by Mark Crilley

Akiko on the Planet Smoo is a registered trademark of Sirius Entertainment, Inc.

Akiko, Spuckler, Poog, Mr. Beeba, Gax and all other characters contained within, their likenesses and other indicia are trademark Sirius Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

The trademark Delacorte Press
^®
is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crilley, Mark.

Akiko on the planet Smoo / Mark Crilley.

p.   cm.

Summary: Ten-year-old Akiko has an unexpected adventure when she is whisked away to a distant planet and put in charge of the rescue mission that must search for the kidnapped Prince Froptoppit.

[1. Science fiction. 2. Adventure and adventurers Fiction. 3. Japanese Americans Fiction.] I. Title.

eISBN: 978-0-440-41862-7

v3.0