Aliens in Underpants Save the World

Text: Claire Freedman

Illustrations: Ben Cort

Year: 2009

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, London

Age: 4 - 8 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 84738 302 0

If you've ever been mystified by missing underpants, this book is about to provide you with the most likeliest answer to your query.

One fine day, aliens (who love pinching Earth-made underpants) spot a meteorite hurtling towards the planet. Earthlings can only watch haplessly but the aliens jump into action and save the day while also getting to save their underpants resource.

It's hilarious. The girls giggled all along as they’d never ever read about underpants in a book. I’m pretty sure, we’ll hear this book for a longtime.

Excerpt

Back home the aliens all cheered,

“Our pants plan was fantastic,

We saved the Earth and underpants,

With pingy pants elastic!”

Wanda and the Alien

By Sue Hendra

Year: 2011

Publisher: Red Fox, London

Age: 3 – 7 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 84941 018 2

Wanda, a happy little rabbit befriends an alien. Her friends, however, don’t have the same reaction - they are scared. Once they get to know him, they become such good friends that they beg the alien to stay on for Christmas. :-)

This book sends out a great message to little ones  – “friends come in all shapes and sizes.” One just has to take the time and effort to get to know them.

Excerpt

The alien’s rocket had crash landed and needed to be mended. Wanda fetched her tools.

Wanda and the alien didn’t speak the same language, but they made each other laugh a lot. 

Countdown!

By Kay Woodward and Ofra Amit

Year: 2005

Publisher: Evans Brothers, London

Age: 3 and above

No. of Pages: 32

ISBN: 978-0-237-52927-7

This has to be one of the cleverest bedtime books I've come across. Though it might be easy to be fooled by the dreary colors on the cover page.

It uses a countdown to relate to the activities towards bedtime and ends in zero which is followed by Zzzzzzzz!

If you haven’t got it, you've got to read the book. My kids, though, were not impressed.  

Excerpt

Nine…  a shiny spacesuit.

Eight … moon shoes.

Seven …  a rocket book.

Six … space juice.

Five …  a clever co-pilot.

Albie and the Space Rocket

Author: Andy Cutbill

Illustrators: Andy Cutbill and Mark Stacey

Year: 2003

Publisher: Collins Picture Books, London

Age: 7 and above

No. of Pages: 32

ISBN: 978-0-00-786522-2

This is a hilarious tale that seems to engage all the imagination of a little boy. Penguins that steal a bed, moose dancing in the loo, zebras feasting on baked beans in the kitchen, elephants that have built a rocket to Jupiter. Now you know what I mean. :-)

Albie finds that his bed has been stolen from under him. That’s how the story begins. 

Albie’s sister has been accidentally rocketed off to Jupiter. That’s how the story ends. 

In between, are several animals who somehow come together to make a comical story. The illustrations are perfectly matched too! I loved the pompous expressions on the elephant scientists' faces. 

Excerpt

“That?” said another elephant.

“Oh, that’s just a super-duper, intergalactic spacerocket.”

“But it’s built from my bed!” spluttered Albie.

“And the cooker and the downstairs loo!”

“It’s state-of-the-art,” said the elephant.