Peter Nelson (2) (1953–)

There were some parts of this book that made me laugh out loud. Here are two of my favorite passages: 1. Alex asks Herbert how his jungle gym turned into a prehistoric jungle."Wormhole," Herbert said.Alex's eyes narrowed. "Call me that again," he said. "I dare you."2. The authors are describing how ugly the G'daliens are:"There is a saying that people say, which goes, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.". The following two pages are blank except for three little crickets down in the bottom right corner, with the tiny words, "Chirp, chirp.". Both of these passages cracked me up, and I found the mix of text and art to be a fun way to break this book up. However, I had a couple of issues with this book. I think it is inappropriate to give the G'Daliens a name and an accent that clearly pokes fun at Australians. I could not help picturing an Australian student feeling uncomfortable and targeted while reading this book. I also had a problem with how much this book glorified video games. There were some points when I thought the authors might be sending the opposite message, but then Herbert, Alex and Sammi saved the world by playing a video game! I enjoyed reading this book, but I think I would be cautious with regard to recommending it to students.… (mehr)

A clever, funny and totally engaging book for the 8-12 year old set; could be enjoyed by both the reluctant and avid reader alike. Features many relatable ingredients that will appeal to kids, particularly boys, including the comic book style illustrations, language style, humor, etc. Appealing aspects of the book include: Relationship references (zealous parents, super smart and scientifically-savvy neighbor), outer space possibilities (do space aliens really exist? Can we really travel through time?), advanced scientific concepts combined with good old fashioned fun (cops and robbers space style), good guy versus bad (will Alex and Herbert evade the gooey doings of GOR-DON?), sports fun (baseball without gravity,) etc.
There are many platforms for discussion in a classroom, including issues of judgement, acceptance of others as well as one’s own self and our interests: Herbert’s older self (he continued inventing, and became rich) is responsible for the final plan to avoid an alien takeover. Video game lovers won’t miss that the whole story begins when Alex unthinkingly promises mom and dad that he’ll put away all games for the rest of the summer - if he could just have the latest AlienSlayer2 game and slay the last alien.
Minor concern: some longer scientific explanations and words.… (mehr)