Akiko on the Planet Smoo

When fourth grader Akiko finds a spacecraft hovering outside her window one night, she begins the adventure of a lifetime. She is whisked off to the planet Smoo to lead a team searching for the King of Smoo's kidnapped son. Akiko the head of a rescue mission? She's afraid to be on the school's safety patrol! So begins the adventures of Akiko, wherein she meets her team Spuckler Boach, Gax, Poog, and Mr. Beeba and sets off on a journey across Smoo to find a prince and become a leader.

Mark Crilley was raised in Detroit, Mich. 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 Akiko and the story of her journey to Smoo.