Aliens for Lunch

by
Stephanie Spinner

and

Jonathan Etra

Random House, April 1991, 63 pp.
ISBN: 0-8335-6491-9

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenre: Science Fiction
Reviewed: 9/30/2003

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

Suddenly the ship slowed almost to a stop.

"By the Great Kazook!" muttered Aric. "What gives?" Then a section of one wall slid open. A very big orange creature with fins on his its head and sharp shiny claws walked in. Behind him were six more creatures. They were all bristling with weapons. Richard's heart raced. He had a horrible feeling he knew what they were--Graxians!

He was right.

"Disarm them," said the leader. "Welcome to Grax," he added smoothly. "Count Wali Dood at your service."

"Stop right there!" said Aric. "In the name of the Interspace Brigade, I arrest you! Quick, Henry, the eggbeater!"

Henry turned on the eggbeater and pointed it at the guards. Richard pulled the spray can out of his pocket and rattled it menacingly in the air. The guards started laughing. Then they simply took the eggbeater and the spray can away.

Richard felt like a total jerk. 
 

Synopsis
Henry is over visiting his friend, Richard Bickerstaff, at Richard's house. When Richard's mom is called into work, the boys put a bag of Kaboom Korn popcorn in the microwave. When the bag explodes, out steps Richards small alien friend Aric of the planet Ganoob (see Aliens for Breakfast). Aric informs the boys that he needs their help retrieving a stolen item. It seems that the Graxians have run out of XTC-1000, a special ingredient that makes deserts taste sweet.

The boys join Aric in the hunt for the thieves, but soon end up as prisoners on the planet Grax. Eating lunch in the Graxian jail, the deserts look nice, but taste like paste. They think that life cannot get any worse, until they hear that the aliens who were supposed to receive the XTC-1000 before it was stolen are going to invade Earth.

How can the boys and Aric escape the Graxian jail to prevent this from happening? The fate of the Earth lays in the hands of two young boys and their tiny alien friend.

Aliens for Lunch is the second book with Richard and Aric by Stephanie Spinner and Jonathan Etra. The book is illustrated by Steve Björkman. This story is intended for early chapter book readers in 3rd to 4th grade. The writing is perfect for young readers as there are not a lot of difficult words. This is a science fiction story about two young boys helping their tiny alien friend recover something that was stolen by another alien race.
 

Review

My daughter picked this book out in her school library. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book to her, as I am a lover of science fiction stories. You do not have to have read the first book, Aliens for Breakfast, to understand and enjoy this story.

This is a fairly funny story that will keep the young reader engrossed in the tale as Richard and Henry try to figure out how to escape from a planet of desert-loving aliens.

The illustrations are the weakest part of the book. I thought they could have been better done with a little more detail, like the cover, which I loved.

Overall, Aliens for Lunch is a fun book for a young reader and I do recommend picking it up.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

This site was created and is maintained by Conan Tigard
2003