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Help! Aliens stole my grandad by Hannah Moffatt and Rory Walker

I was delighted to be asked to join in the blog tour for this fabulous book.  It is a wonderful mix of the totally absurd, but with the underlying sadness of losing a much loved grandparent.

Harrisons grandpa had always wanted to go into space, so when he died it seemed  a good idea to send his ashes up into space, attached to a rocket firework.  What they did not expect was the appearance of space pirates, who happened to get in the way of the ashes.  As you can guess, absolute mayhem ensues and Harrison has to try and recover his grandad’s ashes.

 

A few of Hannah Moffatt’s favourite fictional books about space (and aliens.

Hannah’s new book, Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad is out now. We asked her what other books about aliens or outer space she recommends.  Thank you so much Hannah for these lovely books, which I am hoping everyone will want to read (if they have not already done so.)

 

1. Tractors in Space, written by Ross Mackay, illustrated by Alex Willmore

I bought this colourful picture book about Toby the Tractor’s adventures through space for my friend’s 15-month-year-old … and he absolutely loved it. I can see why. It’s such a fun simple story, packed with super illustrations. I also love the way it blends science fact and fiction (something I try to do with Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad too) by having the tractors do things like dodging asteroids or ride around Saturn’s rings. It’s a perfect picture book!

 

2. The Little Prince written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, (Chris Riddell’s illustrated version)

I first read this tiny tale, about a small boy visiting tiny planets, in the original French during my A-levels. I enjoyed it back then, but it’s Chris Riddell’s recent illustrated version that makes it even more magical for me. Chris’ stunning illustrations give me the same feeling I had when I first saw Rory’ Walker’s fantastic illustrations of Cheddar Moon in our book. There’s just so much detail to enjoy that you want to come back to it time and again.

 

3. An Alien in the Jam Factory, written by Chrissie Sains, illustrated by Jenny Taylor

I think it’s easy to imagine aliens as scary, planet invading creatures (especially if you’ve ever played Space Invaders or watched a heap of US blockbuster movies). And to be fair, some of my alien pirates aren’t the friendliest when you first meet them either … So I love that Fizzbee, the tiny alien who crash lands in the McLay jam factory and flies around in a jam tart, isn’t like that at all. Fizzbee does at great job at giving aliens a good name in stories. This whole series is filled with fun, humour, heart … and a dastardly baddie in Daffy Dodgy who is very much human.

 

4. My Life as a Cat, written by Carlie Sorosiak

Leonard is the perfect alien, and this is one of the most perfectly constructed books, not to mention heartwarming stories, that I’ve ever read. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but from the very opening premise of an alien intending to arrive on earth as a Forest Ranger but in fact getting stuck in completely the wrong place as a stray cat, through to the final pages which had me in floods of tears, this was a total ‘I wish I’d written that’ read.

 

One thing these books have in common for me is the importance of home too. There’s nothing like an alien adventure to get you reflecting on what it means to be human, and I hope, in its own way, Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad does that too.

 

Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad, written by Hannah Moffatt and illustrated by Rory Walker is out with Everything With Words now.

 

Thank you to Mikka Anja Haugaard for giving me the opportunity to read this book and to join in the celebration of such a hilarious read.

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Velda the Awesomest Viking and the Wild Unicorn Chase by David McPhail and Richard Morgan

I think it is fair to say that I have never read a poor book from the publisher Kelpies.  So there were very high expectations when I was asked to take part in the blog tour for David McPhail’s latest Viking adventure.  Needless to say, the book more than lived up to my dreams.  I would like to thank David for this guest post and I am sure that everyone will find it just as hilarious and exciting  as I have done.

The Story of a Girl and Her Axe

About ten years ago, I published a book called Thorfinn the Nicest Viking and the Awful Invasion, about a ridiculously polite Viking boy trapped in a world of ferocious, belching Vikings. While everyone else was pillaging and roaring, Thorfinn baked scones, made tea, washed the dishes and helped old people across the street. In short, he possessed absolutely no useful Viking qualities whatsoever.

Much of the fun of writing Thorfinn came from finding new ways to embarrass his fellow Vikings.

One small character in that first book was a red-haired Viking girl called Velda. With her oversized helmet and enormous axe, she was every bit as fierce as the other Vikings, possibly fiercer. She had a loyal heart, an adventurous spirit and absolutely no interest in being told what she could or couldn’t do.

As Thorfinn became a series, my editor suggested Velda should join his adventures. I remember saying something like, “Well, the Vikings think it’s bad luck to have girls aboard their longships.” We both immediately went: “EXACTLY.”

From that moment, Velda’s path was set. The Vikings didn’t want her around, but Velda wasn’t remotely interested in their opinion. She was coming anyway.

Over eight Thorfinn adventures, Velda became his closest companion. Thorfinn solved problems peacefully. Velda preferred charging straight into danger with confidence set to MAXIMUM and planning set to MINIMUM. And sometimes, when you’re writing, a character simply refuses to stay in the background. Velda was one of those characters. She barged into scenes, stole jokes and generally behaved as though the books belonged to her.

So, I suggested giving Velda adventures of her own, and suddenly Velda the Awesomest Viking was unleashed – OORAH!

Three books later, Velda now captains her own ship, the Mangy Mutt, complete with a rainbow sail. She hated the rainbow at first, right up until she realised how furious it made other Vikings. Naturally, she kept it.

Her crew are as chaotic and oddball as she is, a collection of goofballs and outcasts she regularly insults as “PIG-DOGS”, “SEA-WEAVILS” and occasionally much worse. But Velda would fight the world for them, and they’d do the same for her.

Together they’ve battled legendary wolves, frost giants, oh, and not to mention an oar salesman who boarded the ship and refused to leave until Velda bought new oars.

And now comes The Wild Unicorn Chase, in which a particularly smelly troll steals Velda’s beloved axe. Velda will do absolutely anything to get it back… even if that means sailing across the sea in search of fabled lost unicorns.

I’m very proud of this little book. Underneath all the shouting, axe-waving and troll pong, it’s really a story about empathy, friendship, building bridges (and sometimes smashing them down again). It’s about the vanity of human endeavour, our talent for meddling with the natural world, and the importance of hope.

Because as it happens, everything becomes more hopeful once unicorns are involved.

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Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M Verant

This year sees the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and it is likely that many people will renew their acquaintance with her most well known characters; the Bennet, Bingley and Darcy families from “Pride and Prejudice.  However, as avid readers will no doubt be aware, there has been a huge amount of fan fiction and additional tales about these characters.  Some of these are good, whilst others are less so; this book definitely sits in the former group and I enjoyed it so much that I read it in one sitting, something of a rarity these days.

In this version we still have Elizabeth as the central character and there is just as much friction between her and Mr Darcy, but we have the added complication of a world where small types of dragon are kept as pets by the aristocracy.  When Lizzie discovers that she can speak to these creatures (through her mind), she keeps it a secret as she does not want to be thought mad.  However, she then finds that there are others who have this ability, including Mr Darcy’s late mother.

We also have to remember that this story is set during the period of the Napoleonic wars and the French want to get their hands on the dragons and their owners, in order to prevent the British using them in the war.  The villain of the piece is still the very nasty Wickham, but he is ably abetted by Lydia, who is showing a really evil side to her character.  The scene is set for an exciting and fantastical take on a much loved story.

I was very impressed by the way that the author has blended the original story, including some memorable set scenes, with this new magical aspect.  The story flows beautifully and there are no moments when I felt irritated by the mix of storylines.  I was delighted to find that this is the first part of a trilogy, so I have already bought the other two in the series and can’t wait to read them and continue in this magical version of a classic tale.

Although this book is being marketed as an adult book, it can be read by the 16+ YA reader; there is the suggestion of romantic behaviour, but nothing that is overt and I am sure that readers of that age are reading books that are much more shocking and even watching programmes on the TV.  However, as I normally write about books for a younger age group, I thought it best to give an advisory for this book.

Author Bio

M Verant writes noblebright fantasy and sci-fi that’s exciting, romantic, and celebrates diversity and empowerment. His latest work is Emma’s Dragon, book 2 in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy series. Dragons of the Great Wyves, book 3 of the trilogy, is next, followed by Tiger Seed, a contemporary fantasy rooted in ancient Indus history. He collects Jane Austen paraphernalia and two-legged dragons while dodging wild turkeys in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow him on Bluesky @mverant.com

 

Page Count: 372 Pages

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: April 28, 2021

Amazon Link:https://a.co/d/9Opop2M (Canada) https://a.co/d/2y79X3N (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/cDWH0ZF (UK)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57290597-miss-bennet-s-dragon

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/798d20c0-ed9c-4341-a09f-0e43d34943a2

 

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A Gift of Words by Rosalind Dando

 

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.

 

 

A Gift of Words was the 14th place BBNYA 2025 finalist!

I was delighted to read this book whilst on holiday in the last week.  It is aimed at the younger end of the Middle Grade  age range and has a mix of magic and down to earth life at as a year 7 pupil at an ordinary secondary school.  The central character Cam has just reached his 12th birthday and is about to follow in the family tradition of signing a special book, called “Libris Sapienta”, or the Book of Wisdom.  The idea is that he will then discover what his hidden ‘witch talent’ is.  Unluckily for Cam, nothing seemed to happen, so he thinks that he is a failure and will not be following in the footsteps of his mother and aunt (both of whom have witch powers).  The other main character is Cam`s best friend Alice and they have known each other since their early days in primary school.  Alice is something of a loose cannon, but there appears to be an underlying issue that means she is having regular meetings with the school counselor.

Cam begins to realize that perhaps he does have some special talent when strange things start to happen at school, the day after he signs the book.  During an English lesson about Beowulf he writes that he wishes that Loki, the Norse trickster god, was real.  Then a new pupil called Loman arrives and Cam finds himself involved in some very unusual happenings.

What follows is a mix of magical adventure and some quite worrying events at school.   There is bullying and some very strong hints that Alice is leading a double life, hiding the traumatic events that take place in her home.  How all of these events are resolved makes for a tense and often sad read.  Thankfully Cam has the support of his mother and aunt and they are also there to help Alice as much as they can.  This is a lovely book, where you really feel for the main characters and want there to be a positive outcome.  It is also something that could prove helpful to the young readers in need of support.

 

Author Bio

Rosalind Dando is an author, artist, and primary school teacher living in the north of England. She has written several novels, and her debut, A Gift of Words, is published in April 2024 by Shadow Spark Publishing. She can be found on various social media sites, including Bluesky, X, and Facebook.

Contact her through any of the above sites, or email: rosalinddando@gmail.com

 

Book Details  

Page Count: 201 Pages

Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction

Age Category: Middle-Grade

Date Published: April 29, 2024

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/53GKq0t (Canada) https://a.co/d/g6um4gi (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/cEfrXA0 (UK)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212346189-a-gift-of-words

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b75f3a64-013f-45b9-92de-703bdb250234

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Lianna and the Hombit by Valinora Troy

I love it when I come across a book that feels both original and believable, so I was delighted when I was asked to read this title.  I have not read any of this author’s work before, but I was in for a real treat.  It may well be that the magical atmosphere is an echo of the  author’s Irish heritage, but being half Irish myself, I can only  congratulate her on this fact.

The story is set in a world that feels somewhat Victorian but here the countries have new and exotic names.  The central character is Lianna, who has been sent to stay with her uncle after the death of her father.  She moves from a hot and very happy place to somewhere that she feels totally out of her depth.  Not only that but her uncle is cold and unfriendly and the town is hiding some form of secret.  However, Lianna is suddenly presented with a mysterious glass bird that just appears in the fireplace;  but this is a speaking glass bird who says he is a Hombit and that he has been sent on a mission, although he doesn’t actually know what that is.  When Lianna’s family curse shows itself, the two unlikely allies must work together to solve the mystery and then to complete the Hombit’s mission.  The story is full of magic and mystery, with the brooding  ‘living’ rocks proving central to the tragedies that the area has faced for the past decades, and which Lianna’s father has been blamed for  instigating.

There is a wonderful sense of  something sinister that is affecting the inhabitants of  her new home.  The author has blended together the exotic and the familiar, so that  the reader feels totally familiar with the setting.  Underlying the plot we have the  growing relationships, not only of Lianna and the hombit, but also Lianna and her uncle.  She gradually comes to understand that his coldness is due to the loss of his fiancee in the past, not because he is naturally that way.    This has proved to be one of those stories that really hook you and I admit that I read it in one day.  The concept of the ‘living’ rocks is such a unique element and brings the story almost into the realms of horror, although there is a  more positive end to that  storyline.  This is highly recommended and I would love to read some more about the adventures of Lianna and the Hombit.

 

About the Author:

Valinora Troy is a children’s fantasy and horror writer from Ireland. She has a MA in Creative Writing, specialising in writing for children and young adults. She has acted as a panellist for the CYBILS awards in the middle grade speculative fiction category and served as a Reading Ambassador for Louth Libraries. Her short stories for adults have appeared in numerous publications. She is the author of The Lucky Diamond trilogy, a middle grade children’s fantasy adventure series. In 2023 she was short-listed for the Staróg Prize. When not writing, she loves visiting schools and libraries to talk to children about books and writing.

You can find out more about Valinora’s books, as well as resources for schools, and sign up to her newsletter on her website: Valinora Troy – Children’s Fantasy Writer

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Maya’s Sri Lankan Spice Trail of Tails by Sharika Chauhan

This is a lovely introduction to the country of Sri Lanka, seen through the eyes of a young British Asian girl who goes to visit her pen-pal in that country.  It is  part of a series which follows the main character called Maya as she travels across the world having lots of adventures on the way.  There is a real feeling that the stories are based on the author’s own experiences, as she has travelled to over 40 countries.  I am delighted to be part of this blog tour as it has enabled me to learn more about Sri Lanka, especially from the viewpoint of young people who live there.

The book is aimed at the lower end of KS2 if you look at the size of the print and it is also highly illustrated, although this is something that it attractive whatever the child’s age.  The intensity of the colours really adds to the sense of the exotic that we feel when contemplating  where we are.  The author, as narrator, is talking directly to their audience which really helps to draw them in to the adventure that is happening.

In this book, Maya goes on a visit to stay with her pen friend  Ramy in Sri Lanka.  The fascinating thing is that after her parents take her to the airport, she does the whole journey on her own.  This means that she is probably 12 years or older as there are rules about unaccompanied children.  What really comes across is how similar are the lives of the two girls, but also how there are tremendous differences.  We learn about the families and about the cuisine that Maya has heard so much about.  We also see the girls try their hand at surfboarding and  swimming, enjoying the wonderful coastline and climate of the island.  However, central to this story is the fact that Ramy helps out at a local dog shelter and dreams of being able to adopt a dog called Mimosa, but her parents are not sure she can truly care for a pet.  Finally Ramy is able to persuade them that she is ready for the responsibility of a dog and the girls are overjoyed.

The final part of the story is very different and really brings us face to face with the reality that the world suffered through the COVID pandemic in 2020 and beyond.  We can really feel the fear, not only of the disease itself, but also the thought that Maya could find herself unable to get back to her family; luckily this did not happen and her return flight to the UK was able to take off.  Of course the world had become very different in the crisis and the girls understood that the animal shelter would struggle without the visitors that it relied on; so they set up an online charity and undertook fundraising to help with the fees.  The story finishes on a very positive note as the girls’ friendship grows and strengthens and they learn about how helping others can strengthen their own friendship.  This book  can be read as a wonderful adventure, but it is also something that can act as a focus for discussion about the various topics that are mentioned.

 

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Silent Night by Emma Read

A large family getaway at Christmas might seem like a great idea, or it might be your worst nightmare.  However, what you do not imagine is that you will find yourself in a real world nightmare; well this story brings your worst fears to fruition and at what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.

Masen, his brother Joss and Cousin Connor, together with their families are sharing a holiday home in Wales for the festivities.  The boys are sleeping in a mobile home away from the main house, but are warm and well fed.  Like all young people, they are up early on Christmas morning to explore the fascinating parcels under the tree.  What they did not expect was to find the house empty, with all of the adults missing, even their beds had not been slept in!  The strangest thing was a series of weird miniature christmas trees that had suddenly died during the night; could there be a connection between these events?  As the boys begin a search for the adults they discover that all the other local houses are also empty, then they see some people who appear to be in a daze and are walking southwards, towards the sea.  It is only when they encounter a young girl called Gloria, that they think they might get help.  She and her father have avoided the infection and will provide a safe haven until the family is found, but what has caused this catastrophe in the first place?  Of course the main question is whether the families can be found and just how widespread is this contagion that is affecting everyone?

This is an absolutely fantastic story that has been quoted as taking inspiration from “The Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham, so if this new story can encourage young readers to try this classic tale I will be very happy.  The underlying plot that we are slowly made aware of is quite chilling and the perpetrators are even more so, because thy actually think that what they are doing is for the good of humanity and fail to understand the realities of life.  The three boys are typical in their interests and feelings and we have the gradual growth of empathy and familial feelings as they have to depend on each other, even if they don’t always understand why the others are acting in a given way.  This really is a book that leaves an impact and gives us as many questions as answers.  It will make a great present for this year and will be a firm favourite in years to come.

About Emma

Once upon a time (in school), Emma was told she had to choose between being a scientist and a creative but deep down she knew she could be both.

Her favourite things in the world are: badges, Death On the Nile (1978), hats, foxes, deserts, desserts and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She’s not sure which holiday is best – Halloween or Christmas (she loves all things spooky, but also presents and singing Christmas carols.) Her one regret in life is never having trained to be an astronaut.

​Picture from Chicken House Books.

Author information from her website, with thanks.

 

 

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Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate’s Portolano by Victoria Williamson

Pirates have been a perennial favourite in literature going back to characters such as Long John Silver and Captain Hook.  However there are also a wealth of pirates who actually lived and whose exploits formed the basis of these fictional stories.  So, it is no wonder that we still have an abundance of stories  which include these mythical sounding characters.

In this story, Kitty is the daughter of a ship’s captain and has spent her 11 years on board ship with her mother.  Her father is presumed dead after a terrible storm sank his ship many years ago and her elder sister  disappeared when Kitty was still very young.  The world in which the story is set is a mix of  old and new technologies; where the mighty ships that trade across the seas are powered by a substance called Marinium, which comes from a 5 yearly meteor shower.  Unfortunately the supply of the rare substance is running out and both traders and pirates are in a desperate hunt to find more supplies, because if the ships run out of power, they will sink!  Whilst Kitty and her mother’s ship the “Amazon Princess” are searching, Kitty discovers that her missing sister is now a much feared pirate queen, but can she be saved, or does she enjoy the life of a pirate?

This is a brilliantly swashbuckling and exciting story for middle grade children and will make a wonderful addition to collections for “Talk like a Pirate” day.  Kitty is an engaging person who  although still very young, is very determined to make the most of life at sea. Her best friend is called Scally and he is stowing away, as he had been branded as a pirate; his misuse of language reminds me of the character Mrs Malaprop (Sheridan, The Rivals) and the author has come up with some wonderful alternative words.

An aspect that I particularly enjoy is the inclusion of illustrations and information that are meant to come from the book called “The Pirate’s Portolano”, which is designed as a guide to the sea world they inhabit and also the pirates who are the greatest danger.  The “Amazon Princess” is a multi tiered vessel, with a similar number of decks to some of the mega-liners that cruise the world today.  In some ways they remind me of the travelling cities imagined by Philip Reeve in “Mortal Engines” and by William Nicholson in the “Windsinger” series.  The author has created a world that is both familiar and also strange, so that the audience is never quite sure what will happen next.  Luckily the plot seems to suggest that we should be ready for another thrilling instalment in the future and I will definitely be looking forward to learning more about Kitty and her adventures.

 

About the Author

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author from Glasgow, Scotland, who loved reading books and writing adventure stories from an early age. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK.

Her previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, War of the Wind, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, Norah’s Ark, The Whistlers in the Dark, Feast of Ashes, and Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs. Her books have won the RED Book Award 2024, YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023 and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, and have been short-listed and long-listed for numerous other awards. War of the Wind and Norah’s Ark were also both nominated for the 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medals.

Victoria writes and edits Key Stage 2 books for the education company Twinkl. She spends the rest of her time writing novels and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops. Her latest novel, Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate’s Portolano, channels her love of pirates and swashbuckling adventure to create a steampunk world set on the seven seas, and is illustrated by the very talented James Brown.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

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Scarlet Morning by N D Stevenson

This sounded like the usual story of pirates and a fantastical world very different from ours.  Well, I was completely wrong about so many of my assumptions.  This is one of those books that really makes you wonder about what is real and what is in the characters’ imagination.

The story begins with two children, Viola and Wilmur, who are left in the cheerless town of Caveat, in the care of an old woman called Hestur.  They are barely existing, but keep alive the hope that their separate parents will come to find them eventually.  When their carer mysteriously disappears, the children struggle to find enough to eat and seem to depend on pickled eggs.  Then  an outlandish pirate called Captain Cadence Chase arrives and wants a strange book that has been in the house for all of their lives.  A very canny Viola agrees to hand over the book in exchange for the children being taken to the largest town in the region of Dickerson’s Sea.  What follows is the most amazing and fantastical tale of pirates, spirits and the power of family and friendship.  However, the pirates are undercover, after they were all banned fifteen years before and most were actually killed by the Queensmen, followers of the late lamented Queen Hail Meridian, who had also been killed in the uprising.  The story is a complete roller-coaster ride, where you are not always sure what is real and what is a form of hallucination.

The main characters are full of determination, although Wilmur is less forceful than Viola, so that on the pirate ship he soon settles down to the life of a sailor and obeying orders  from those more senior.  Viola, on the other hand, wants to discover the mystery surrounding the book and also what happened during the bloody uprising, which took place when she was a very small child.  The author has blended  the main story, with a sub text about how seagulls can attack humans and turn them into spirits and giving them a silver circle within the eye.  Viola discovers that she has this issue and yet she has not been turned into the spirit, although she does start to hear the voice of others.

What makes this title such a stand out delight is the number and quality of the illustrations, all of which are produced by N D Stevenson.  There is a wonderfully dynamic edge to the artwork and you really get a feel for the energy that is being radiated by the characters.  The creation of so many pictures adds to the energy that you feel throughout the book and the sharpness of the style increases the sense of how different this world is.  The story came to a satisfying end, but it felt as if there was more to come, so I was delighted to see that the spine of the book describes it as being Book 1, meaning that I have the pleasure of reading the follow-up story at some time in the future.

About the author / illustrator:

ND Stevenson is the award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator of Nimona and The Fire Never Goes Out and the co creator of Lumberjanes and was the show runner for the award-winning Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

 

 

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Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson (£14.99, HarperCollins Publishers) available now.

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Aliens made me do it by David McPhail and Rory Walker

What an absolutely fabulous but crazy adventure this is.  When wannabe tyrants Prince Perseus and his arch enemy Princess Cassiopeia, both land on Earth, together with their robot guards, it is with the intention of wiping us out.  The trouble is they don’t choose the right place, or people, to negotiate with.  Hillman is a young boy, being looked after by his granddad and doesn’t take kindly to his dad’s car being flattened by an alien spaceship.  This is Cassiopeia’s ship; the only one, as the rest of her invasion fleet has been accidentally miniaturized, putting her plans in danger.  Prince Perseus  finds himself at the local rubbish dump, where he is saved by a young girl called Roz; she sees the potential to use the invaders to save her granddad’s care home, but is robbing a bank the way to achieve this?

David McPhail has given us a hysterically funny group of characters, which gets them into situations that we can only be grateful are not real (we hope).  I particularly love a major twist towards the end of the story, it really rings true.  Given the current situation that we find around the world, I think that this article by the author has a lot of  common sense to pass on to us.

 

Comic villains and heroes and present politics

In Aliens Made Me Do It, a purple-haired alien tyrant, Prince Perseus, arrives on Earth with one mission: destroy the planet. Why? Because he feels like it—and because he thinks Earth smells funny. (To be fair, he has landed on a rubbish dump).

On paper, Perseus is terrifying. In practice, he’s stomping about in a bucket-shaped helmet and clod-hopping boots, ranting about how custard is the most dangerous substance in the galaxy. Does he sound silly? Of course. But does he sound any sillier than some modern politicians? I’ll let you decide.

His sworn enemy, Princess Cassiopeia, isn’t exactly a genius either. She struts in wearing banana boots, still recovering from the embarrassment of shrinking her entire space fleet while making a smoothie. Their bickering, as the story goes on, starts to resemble two local councillors arguing furiously about the size of a hedge.

That’s the point: power is often absurd. The British Prime Minister gets his or her own official cat. The US President pardons a turkey every Thanksgiving. (Imagine explaining that to the aliens: “Yeh, we save one bird, but then we eat millions of its cousins.”) Power, viewed sideways, is ridiculous—and kids are experts at looking sideways.

Which brings us to the heroes. In my experience, the most sensible people in any room are usually the children. That’s why in Aliens Made Me Do It, it’s not the blustering aliens or pompous adults who’ll save Earth, but two ordinary kids, Hillman and Roz. Because when it comes to galactic crises—or local hedges—it’s often the children who actually make the most sense.