Children’s books are often centered on endearingly oddball characters, but there’s a special place in the kid-lit canon for a hero as funky as Skippyjon Jones. He’s a Siamese kitten who thinks he’s a Chihuahua.

In writer/illustrator Judy Schachner’s latest adventure, Skippyjon takes his preferred alter-ego “Skippito the perrito (little dog)” to Mars—or at least to the floor of his bedroom closet, which he has covered with chili powder to resemble the landscape of the Red Planet. There he encounters his imaginary puppy pals Los Chimichangos, as well as a group of Martians who seem to want nothing more than Skippyjon’s stuffed sock monkey.

Yes, this is the wonderfully twisted world of Schachner’s Skippyjon, where kid-friendly bilingual rhymes share the pages with winking references to David Bowie’s Major Tom. Join the author as she comes to town this week to read about everyone’s favorite pooch-ito.

Judy Schachner: Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice @ The King’s English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, 801-584-9100, Friday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m. KingsEnglish.com