Space Guys! (A Holiday House Reader, Level 1) [Hardcover]

Martha Weston (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Series: Holiday House Reader - Level 1 (Hardback)

A boy is visited by beings that look like robots that arrive in a flying saucer from outer space.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 1-When a boy tells his parents that he has been visited by aliens in the middle of the night, they quickly dismiss his claim ("Now, now,/go to bed./Space guys/are in your head") and return to their slumbers. This amusing story will capture and hold readers' attention as the three space guys wreak havoc in the child's house. One eats the soap, another becomes wrapped, mummy style, in toilet paper, while the third squeezes toothpaste all over himself and the bathroom sink. The rhyme sometimes seems a bit forced and occasionally carries over from one spread to the next, which might be a bit confusing for beginning readers. Humorous full-color pictures ably depict the action as well as the characters' facial expressions, particularly the stunned look on the parents' faces the morning after when they find a Polaroid snapshot of the extraterrestrials. Overall, this simple story will appeal to youngsters.
Nancy J. Fuster, Whittier Elementary School, Bozeman, MT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

This very easy reader from Weston (Cats Are Like That, 1999, etc.) is pretty thin gruel, though it does pack the kind of finish all kids would like as endings to those stories their parents just won't believe. A beeping noise is keeping a young boy awake. He investigates and discovers, of course, a space ship outside his window. He alerts his mother and father, who tell him the ``space guys'' are in his head, not in a tree outside. So the boy returns to his room and cavorts with the space guys, making a sweet mess in the process. Come morning, his parents find the mess and demand an accounting. It was the space guys, pleads the boy, and he has proof: a photo he has taken of the aliens while they were goofing around that night. Case closed. The text, in verse, is composed of one and two syllable words, just right for very early reading: ``Oh! / Hi, space guys. / Like my plane? / It can fly. / Shh! Too loud. / Come with me. / Stop! Don't eat soap! / Oh, no! Yucky!'' The subject is an inviting one, too, although the end result of the monosyllabic style is more like a school reader. The real pull is left to the artwork, homey watercolors of three lively space guys whom Weston has invested with plenty of energy. (Easy reader. 4-7) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823414876
• ISBN-13: 978-0823414871
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite childrens book ever, June 20, 2007

By 

Sean M. Carrick (Portand, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Space Guys! (A Holiday House Reader, Level 1) (Hardcover)

I have a 20 month old who is totally enthralled with this book (I've read it up to seven times in a row, and he loves every second). I personally find it silly, but clever, and the best overall children's book I've ever read. I just wish it was more well known.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great rhymes - my kids love it!, February 14, 2005

By 

A. Tsuchida (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Space Guys! (A Holiday House Reader, Level 1) (Hardcover)

We got this book from the library and my kids (2 and 4) love it. The rhymes make it very easy to read and the story is enjoyable. We have read it so many times, that we actually quote the entire book from memory while riding in the car! Even my 2 year old knows the whole story by heart.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "true" review., March 24, 2000

By 

Anna Grossnickle Hines (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Space Guys! (A Holiday House Reader, Level 1) (Hardcover)

I confess this is not an unbiased review because Martha is a friend of mine, but I just have to report an incident she shared with me. As Martha read her book to group of 300 students recently she was delighted to hear some of the kids spontaneously reading along. At the end they clapped and cheered. But the real reward came when a teacher reported that an autistic boy who normally keeps his head down during assemblies had been enthralled with her reading. Back in the room the teacher checked in the child's desk, and there at the bottom was the school's copy of the book. I just bought a copy of this fun, zippy little book which I can't wait to give to my four year old grandson. I'm betting it will be a "read it again".