Spaceheadz 1

Jon Scieszka's Spaceheadz 1 is a daft alien comedy for 9 year olds about a boy whose first day at a new school goes very, very weird.

What happens

Michael K. is brand new in Brooklyn. He's been in fifth grade for twenty minutes. Already the new girl has eaten half of his only pencil, and the new boy has told him they're Spaceheadz from another planet.

He decides they must be joking. They aren't.

Bob and Jennifer really are aliens. They got here by changing channels (no spaceship, no lasers, just a remote). Their leader is the class hamster, Major Fluffy. And they need to sign up three point one four million and one kids as Spaceheadz, or the whole planet will be switched off.

Poor Michael K. just wanted to fit in!

The funniest thing is the way the aliens talk. They seem to have picked up English from TV, so half of what they say is advertising slogans and wrestling catchphrases. Ask Bob a simple question and you might get "JUST DO IT" back. Jennifer would like to solve most problems with a flying head butt.

Then there's Agent Umber of the Anti-Alien Agency, who's on their trail. He polishes his shoes a lot, has a phone shaped like a pickle, and badly wants a promotion to a cooler colour name (Agent Atomic Tangerine, maybe). He's also not very good at his job, which is a big part of the fun.

It moves fast, in short snappy scenes. There are lists, a very long speech from the hamster that is nothing but squeaks, and a teacher who has never been asked "Why?" in thirty-seven years and doesn't know what to do about it.

One thing to know. It's set in New York and the slogans are mostly American ones, so a UK reader won't recognise them all. The jokes still work, but you might find yourself explaining a few!

If your reader loves a story where the grown-ups haven't a clue and the kids are the only ones who know what's really going on, this should have them laughing out loud.

What to read next

For more of Jon Scieszka's brand of bonkers, try Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor. Frank is a kid inventor whose two robots put themselves together out of junk in the middle of the night.