Zartog is an alien with several arms and no nose whatsoever. Rachel is having trouble with some very unsavoury types at school. Then, between them, Zartog and Rachel muddle up their remote controls: Zatog finds himself with a TV remote and Rachel finds she can change things around!
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Brennan (The Mystery Machine) stretches an already slim conceit in this lightweight fantasy. A young creature from another planet breaks the rules ("It was absolutely forbidden to land on an alien planet if you were Zartog's age") and brings his spaceship to "a planet circling Sol in the Milky Way." There (on Earth), he briefly encounters a girl named Rachel and her dog, and unknowingly they switch their remote controls: Zartog flies off with the remote for Rachel's TV, leaving her with the remote for his flying saucer. Rachel uses Zartog's remote to best a trio of bullies (they pick on "little kids who were a different color than themselves," like Rachel). Meanwhile, Zartog's talking computer takes charge, spouting emergency code words and availing Zartog of a time machine (don't ask) in order to help Zartog fly his saucer back home. Sometimes Brennan's humor is subtle (Rachel's dog, Lord Percy, has a sad expression because "his mother had been frightened by a bloodhound"); often it is outr‚ (when Rachel uses Zartog's remote to change the bullies into a series of animals, the list of transformations goes on for more than two pages). Final artwork (by the author/artist of Smile If You're Human) not seen by PW. Ages 7-12.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-Two parallel plots quickly unfold in this sci-fi adventure. Zartog, an eight-year-old alien, takes his family's flying saucer for a spin, travels beyond the limits his parents have set, and decides to do the forbidden and land on Earth. There, plucky eight-year-old Rachel is the target of bullies who enjoy picking on smaller kids, especially those who are of a different color. Zartog steps out of his ship and promptly loses his remote control, a special device that allows him to run his flying saucer and to change an object from one thing into another. When Rachel and her dog arrive on the scene, he is so frightened that he flees, and the girl picks up the device. He soon discovers that without the powerful remote, the ship cannot make the long trip back home. Thus, Zartog is forced to face his fears. Armed with the remote, Rachel takes on the bullies, and changes them into a host of objects from a pair of glasses to a penguin to a hamster. Ultimately, she returns the device to the alien, and the two find courage. The text is bogged down by the author's message: that we accept those who may look or act differently from ourselves. Rachel's problem is not solved with brains or brawn, but rather with a souped-up appliance. Morality lessons aside, this is a light story fit for young sci/fi fans.-Alison Grant, West Bloomfield Township Public Library, MI
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
A professional writer whose work has appeared in more than fifty countries, Herbie Brennan is enjoyed by children and adults alike -- sales of his books already exceed 7.5 million copies.
Herbie has an well-established career writing for the children's market -- from picture books to teenage fiction, from game books to school curriculum non-fiction. His keen eye for novelty, both in technology and market development, made him among the very first writers to create adventure gamebooks and his GrailQuest series was an international bestseller.
His teenage novel, Faerie Wars, also rocketed to international success, achieving best-seller status in more than 20 overseas editions, and was voted No 1 Top Ten Teenage Pick in the United States and listed as a New York Times Best Seller title.
Equally prolific in the adult market, Herbie has a powerful reputation for challenging conventional assumptions with penetrating intelligence and a clear, easy style. This is reflected in his interests, which range from transpersonal psychology, spirituality, reincarnation and psychical research to comparative religion and quantum physics. His reappraisal of ancient history has stirred lively debate on TV and radio as well as in the Press. He broadcasts and lectures regularly throughout the UK and Ireland.
Herbie became interested in mysticism as a child and was studying books on the subject virtually from the time he was able to read. He found himself pursuing several unorthodox lines of research, including hypnosis, and actually hypnotised his first subject -- a school friend -- at the age of nine!
He began a journalistic career at eighteen and at twenty-four became the youngest newspaper editor in his native Ireland. His early career path included magazine work, hypnotherapy, counselling, advertising and market¬ing.
His first book, Astral Doorways, an exploration of out-of-body experience, became a specialist best-seller and went on to become a classic in its field -- it is still in print some thirty-five years on.
In his mid twenties, Herbie had his first novel published, an historical romance brought out by Doubleday in New York. At the age of thirty he decided to devote most of his time to writing and has since gone on to produce more than 100 books, many of them international best-sellers.
When he can be persuaded to take a break from his writing, Herbie give lectures and seminars, which have included modules on reincarnation research, the astral plane, dreamwork, healing, spiritual development, psychical research, quantum physics and magical training..
With a background that includes writing for radio, the creation of boxed games and computer software, perhaps his greatest strength lies in the realm ideas, particularly in the diversification of publishing product into allied fields like audio and CD-ROM.
Herbie has an well-established career writing for the children's market -- from picture books to teenage fiction, from game books to school curriculum non-fiction. His keen eye for novelty, both in technology and market development, made him among the very first writers to create adventure gamebooks and his GrailQuest series was an international bestseller.
His teenage novel, Faerie Wars, also rocketed to international success, achieving best-seller status in more than 20 overseas editions, and was voted No 1 Top Ten Teenage Pick in the United States and listed as a New York Times Best Seller title.
Equally prolific in the adult market, Herbie has a powerful reputation for challenging conventional assumptions with penetrating intelligence and a clear, easy style. This is reflected in his interests, which range from transpersonal psychology, spirituality, reincarnation and psychical research to comparative religion and quantum physics. His reappraisal of ancient history has stirred lively debate on TV and radio as well as in the Press. He broadcasts and lectures regularly throughout the UK and Ireland.
Herbie became interested in mysticism as a child and was studying books on the subject virtually from the time he was able to read. He found himself pursuing several unorthodox lines of research, including hypnosis, and actually hypnotised his first subject -- a school friend -- at the age of nine!
He began a journalistic career at eighteen and at twenty-four became the youngest newspaper editor in his native Ireland. His early career path included magazine work, hypnotherapy, counselling, advertising and market¬ing.
His first book, Astral Doorways, an exploration of out-of-body experience, became a specialist best-seller and went on to become a classic in its field -- it is still in print some thirty-five years on.
In his mid twenties, Herbie had his first novel published, an historical romance brought out by Doubleday in New York. At the age of thirty he decided to devote most of his time to writing and has since gone on to produce more than 100 books, many of them international best-sellers.
When he can be persuaded to take a break from his writing, Herbie give lectures and seminars, which have included modules on reincarnation research, the astral plane, dreamwork, healing, spiritual development, psychical research, quantum physics and magical training..
With a background that includes writing for radio, the creation of boxed games and computer software, perhaps his greatest strength lies in the realm ideas, particularly in the diversification of publishing product into allied fields like audio and CD-ROM.
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