There are so many children's picture books that deal with the subject of friendship that they often blur into one another. It takes a rather special one to make us sit up and take notice and in "Your Alien", though the focus is on the friendship between a young boy and a tiny (and adorably cute) alien visitor, there's far more to this book than meets the eye.
When a young boy spots something odd outside one day, he discovers the remnants of a crashed spaceship - and its teeny tiny pilot. The little green alien is a friendly little fellow, and the boy can't wait to take him home but how will his parents react to their new intergalactic visitor?
Things seem to be fantastic at first, and the boy's new friend is a ton of fun. Mum and dad don't even seem to notice the alien's presence (which is where this book takes a departure from the norm, feeling a lot like it's making a solid statement about parents who don't engage with their kids as well as about friendship). Soon though, the boy's pint-sized alien buddy grows sad and so there's only one thing to do...! Time for a rescue mission!
Keeping the word count to a minimum but conveying a touching story of a stratospheric friendship, this book is filled with glorious and atmospheric illustrations to beautifully underpin the strong story theme.
Utterly gorgeous!
Charlotte's favourite bit: Mr Binky doesn't seem to take to the new visitor as much as everyone else. Poor bunny!
Daddy's favourite bit: A wry dig at non-attentive parents (put your durned phone down and play with your kids!), a touching tale of friendship and one of the cutest aliens we've ever seen. This book is a winner!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Sterling Publishing)
"Your Alien"
Written by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Goro Fujita
Published by Sterling Publishing
Release Date (Hardback): 7th October 2015