I liked the story in this book. It's impressive how much Andre Norton can weave into one middle-grade novel. I especially like that while the giant insects are dangerous, they are not depicted as evil, and there turns out to be a good reason why they are so aggressive. I was disappointed in the Star Ka'ats for their inability to understand and work with their cat companions on the Star Ka'ats' homeworld, since their solution, removing the cats who are unable to act like ka'ats to a different planet rather than seeking to understand the psychological underpinnings of cat behavior, seems like a way of avoiding rather than actually dealing with the differences between cats and ka'ats. ( )