Smile If You're Human - Hardcover

Layton, Neal

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803723814 ISBN 13: 9780803723818

Publisher: Dial, 1999

Synopsis

An alien family visits a zoo in search of a real-life human, but their not-very-good guide to Earth fails them and they resort to trial and error while continuing to look and eventually figure out what makes humans special.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

English illustrator Layton makes his U.S. debut with this altogether prepossessing tale of interplanetary tourism. As a spherical orange spaceship comes to rest on a pale-yellow Earth sidewalk, the young alien narrator announces, "I've brought my camera and hope to take a picture of a most unusual creature known as a 'human,' " while pressing against the craft's window with evident delight. Like any curious family, the extraterrestrial child, mother and father disembark and begin to explore what turns out to be a walled zoo. Unaware that the humans have dispersed (one image shows two cars speeding away), the aliens proceed to the animals' cages, earnestly consulting the "Aliens' Guide to Earth." The child checks to see if humans tend to bounce ("Mom looked at her book. 'This jumpy fellow is a kangaroo. Humans like to walk' "), and inquires about a four-legged, striped thing that readers will know as a tiger. Layton's gestural artwork may at first appear unsophisticated, but his cursory outlines and roughed-in swatches of paint serve to animate the ebullient pictures. The aliens resemble colorful patchwork bugs, with cheerful smiles, skinny legs and two eyeballs that wave high on thin stalks; conventional hats (e.g., a fedora for Dad) levitate in the air above their eyes. Their na?vet? is charming, particularly when they arrive at a gorilla's cage and make a small error; at least Junior gets a snapshot of someone's smile. Young Earthlings will surely giggle at these peaceful, flash-happy tourists. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-An alien family lands a rocket ship on Earth, in the middle of a zoo. The child, armed with a camera, looks for humans to photograph. He wonders about each animal that they see, continually asking, "Is that a human?" His parents look each one up in their guidebook only to identify it as a kangaroo, tiger, penguin, or giraffe. But when they catch a glimpse of a mysterious creature peeking out of the last house in the zoo, they declare it human, and the alien child snaps a picture. Observant readers will figure out the truth even before the page is turned and delight in knowing more than the protagonists. Layton's amusing stick-figure aliens have bodies splashed with colors in geometric shapes. Their eyes stand on stalks and their hats hang in the air above their heads. The close-up views of the animals, with eyes popping, strutting their charms, are wonderful. The text has repetitive phrases that encourage participation. Pair this humorous tale with Jeanne Willis's Earthlets, as Explained by Professor Xargle (Dutton, 1989) for a look at humans from an unusual point of view.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0803723814
• ISBN 13: 9780803723818
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Layton Neal