Middle grades sci fi adventure comedy with a brave boy, his quirky inventor uncle and an environmental message. When I saw the book cover with a straw coming out of the ocean, I was intrigued. When I read the description, I thought, that is just the break from reality I could use right now. I do love scifi comedy and the premise of a giant straw sucking up the ocean seemed perfect fun. I was right! A great break from more serious reading I've been doing lately.

When Jim's father is sucked up the straw, Jim goes to his inventor uncle for help. The uncle's fishermen friends, one of whom thinks he is a pirate, head off to rescue, but get sucked up the straw too. There they meet other aliens who were sucked up from their planets when their planets were tested for pollution by yet another species of aliens. If earth doesn't pass the test, it will be destroyed. Jim and his new friends have to come up with a plan to save the planet and the aliens trapped in the belly of the 'beast'. A fun, fast-paced, uplifting story. My only caution is that practically all the characters are male and one of the more prominent female minor characters is written as a selfish shrew.