Customer Reviews

Guys from Space

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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I am in college and my friends and I gather 'round on Saturday nights to read this book. Guys From Space is classic Pinkwater at its best. I only regret that I did not get a hardcover version. Some of the funniest things in this book are the talking rock, the plastic fish and the mother (She's just like mine!) When the kid in the story comes back from another planet and tells his mother about it, the first thing she says is, "Why do you have the dog's water bowl on your head?" The brilliant illustrations complement the story, as only a Pinkwater can. Guys From Space makes me laugh just thinking about it.

A perfect bedtime story. Clever, humourous, rhythmically pleasing, the right length, and truly fun to read aloud. My 4-year-old is never disappointed when we read this one, and even the 8-year-old and the 11-year-old wander in to listen. I commune with the author's sense of humour -- though I must confess I found his interview on this website pretty vapid. The book, however, is a classic and I'd buy a hardcover copy anytime.

Our children are 10 and almost 4. We started reading this book to our older child when he was about 3, and we're still reading it as a regular bedtime story to our children. None of us tires of it. We have probably over a hundred children's books in our home, and this one rises to the top. When I noticed that this book was out of print, I decided to write the review hoping that it may help to influence someone to re-print it. Thank you, Daniel Pinkwater.

An adventure story told with a drool sense of humor. Understated and fun to read aloud. A sense of normalcy and absurdity underlies a boy's space journey.

This is a wonderful book. I can't tell you how many times our son has begged us to read it. Of course he doesn't have to beg long because we thouroughly enjoy this book as well. We have checked it out from the library almost every week for months now and hope it will be back in print soon! When it does, I am buying one for everyone I know!

Buy this book! Some kid will thank you.

A close encounter of the humorous kind, told by a boy who finds "guys from space" in his back yard. His busy mom says he can go explore the universe as long as he's back for dinner. How can they cross the galaxy and return in time, he asks the Space Guys. "Easy," they say. "We go fast."

Engagingly humorous, never sappy, ideal for the bright younger reader who enjoys low-key absurdity (the boy has no space helmet like the Guys do, so he uses a dog's supper dish with the same shape).

What can I say? I'm buying three copies as holiday gifts. And one to keep.

This is one of the all time best children's books ever. Daniel Pinkwater writes wonderful, wacky children's books, and this is his very best. The little aliens land and invite the boy to come along with them in their space ship. When the little boy worries, the aliens reassure him, We know what we're doing. We're guys from space. Of course! And they pay for the root beer with the sort of little plastic fish that curl in your hand -- people my age remember them as an all time chintzy prize in Cracker Jacks. It turns out to the the universal currency of the universe. Well of course! Wonderful book. Read it to your kids. Read it to your college roomate. Read it to your sweet heart and read it to your spouse on your 50th wedding anniversary. It's an all purpose book. They are, after all, guys from space.

I first read Guys From Space to my kids in the mid-1980s, and it became an instant favorite. I can't tell you how many laughs we've shared over the years because of Guys From Space. To this day, my daughter and I quote from it, whether it be about the plastic fish, the root beer floats or the dog's dish the little boy wore as a space helmet. I now have a granddaughter who would love this book, and yet when I tried to find it through my local bookstore, I was dismayed to learn that it had gone out of print. Classics like Guys From Space should never be allowed to go out of print!

This is one of the all time favorite bedtime stories at my house.