Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFOs and Aliens

Halls, Kelly Milner

ISBN 10: 0761362045 ISBN 13: 9780761362043

Publisher: Millbrook Press ™, 2012

Synopsis

Imagine . . . you're in the woods after dark. Eerie green lights appear in the distance. Then there's a sudden flash and everything is dark again. You decide to take a closer look. You come upon a saucer-shaped craft hovering silently just above the ground. You reach out to touch it, but the object suddenly shoots up into the sky. Have you just seen a UFO?

Some people say they have had experiences like this. Are they telling the truth? To find out, Kelly Milner Halls investigated stories of eyewitnesses from around the world. She explored UFO sightings, landings, crashes, aliens, and even a few hoaxes. She also interviewed several of the world's UFO experts. Examine her findings and decide for yourself whether visitors from other worlds are real.

About this title

About the Authors

Kelly Milner Halls is a full-time children's writer, specializing in quirky topics for reluctant readers. Kelly lives in Washington with her two daughters, one dog, too many cats, and a four-foot rock iguana.

As a young child, Rick C. Spears was fascinated by dinosaurs and spent many hours drawing pictures of prehistoric animals in various scenes of combat. Time passed and, though still a pretty good artist, his teenaged interests replaced dinosaurs with Japanese monsters, Star Wars, and girls (not necessarily in that order). It wasn't until after college that Rick rekindled his love of prehistory and began to fancy himself a paleoartist. Since then, his artwork has found its way into museum displays, books, magazines, and even a board game. Rick currently resides in Georgia with his wife, Darlene, who patiently tolerates all this dinosaur/monster/alien stuff as a part of everyday life.

Reviews

Gr 4-6-The author begins with an alien alter ego named Yllek (Kelly spelled backwards) who is planning a possible journey through space. His perspective is sprinkled throughout this historical survey of UFO and extraterrestrial sightings, providing a humorous touch to the information. Beginning with a 1947 incident over Washington State, the narrative succinctly describes similar incidents in such places as Florida, Iran, Arizona, China, and New Mexico. One-page interviews with the witnesses of UFO/ET sightings inject personal details into the description. Possible terrestrial explanations follow each incident. Jaunty full-color illustrations flash off every page and provide a good contrast between what people claim to have seen and what the experts think they may have seen-clouds, lightning, and other weather phenomena; secret U.S. planes; weather balloons, etc. A double-page world map pinpoints modern sightings. A bibliography of books and websites and lists of UFO organizations and festivals might lead readers further into the field. While not as comprehensive as Eric Elfman's Almanac of Alien Encounters (Random, 2001) or as skeptical as Judith Herbst's UFOs (Lerner, 2005), this attractive, balanced view will update collections.-Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Halls takes a three-pronged approach to the perennially fascinating topic of UFOs, with looks at famous (and not-so-famous) incidents of sightings, landings, and alien bodies; interviews with people who are convinced they have had alien encounters; and a fictional story about aliens visiting earth (with trepidation, the way astronauts might visit Mars). The latter, illustrated with neon-colored, computer-generated artwork, probably could have been eliminated. But the rest of the material—with stories of alien visits since 1947 from all parts of the world and interviews with experts and ordinary citizens—is intriguing and presented in a way sure to capture kids’ imaginations. The organization is a bit lacking, but all the important points about UFOs are covered (including hoaxes), and the lively format, with plenty of art and graphic elements, will hold attention. Several times, Halls invites readers to come to their own conclusions, and she provides plenty of information to let them do just that. A glossary and source notes are appended. Grades 5-8. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Millbrook Press ™
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761362045
• ISBN 13: 9780761362043
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Spears Rick C.
• Number of pages: 64