Ben's throat is so sore he feels like crying. But his sister calls him a crybaby, while his mother tells him to be brave and brings him some of his favourite comics to read.

Soon, Ben is following the latest, thrilling space battle of his hero, Captain Cranko.

Then all of a sudden, Ben isn't reading any more - he's on board Cranko's ship, fighting aliens.

When the battle's done, though, Ben discovers that sometimes, even super space heroes cry!Jean Ure is the author of four other Walker titles for young readers, "The Wizard in the Woods", "The Wizard in Wonderland", "The Wizard and the Witch" and "The Unknown Planet".