My Brother Is a Visitor from Another Planet - Hardcover

Sheldon, Dyan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1564021416 ISBN 13: 9781564021410

Publisher: Candlewick, 1993

Synopsis

Adam's big brother Keith is selfish and mean, but Adam has doubts about Keith's claims that he is an alien, but his doubts start to vanish when Keith shows Adam his strange powers and threatens Adam if he tells.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Is he or isn't he? Initially skeptical, nine-year-old Adam begins to believe it may be true after Keith seems to read his thoughts, turn a lamp off simply by pointing, and make a batteryless stereo produce weird noises. When Keith earnestly asks him to carry a message to his ``people,'' Adam agrees, but it's all an elaborate hoax: after waiting under a rain-soaked tree for over an hour, Adam looks up to see his brother sitting on a branch, hooting derisively. Readers might buy Adam's half-willing suspension of disbelief, but Keith's zeal in pursuing the joke seems excessive; he also has a cruel streak (leaving a hot pepper in the dog's dish--that sort of thing) and never seems to suffer either remorse or retribution. The farce is, at best, mild, while characters show more personality in Brazell's small ink drawings than in the text. As in Sheldon's Harry and Chicken stories, the premise is better than the treatment. (Fiction. 9-11) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- After years of being tricked by his obnoxious older brother, nine-year-old Adam is reluctant to believe Keith's claim that he is an alien. But Keith seems desperate to contact the spaceship that will take him to his home planet, and he needs Adam's help . While there is appeal to the idea of getting rid of his sibling, the younger boy is afraid his parents will be upset at the disappearance. So begins this fast-paced, suspenseful adventure. Readers are kept on edge; Keith's story has an obviously false ring, but he's so incredibly awful that they will believe he really could be from outer space. Lots of humor, exaggeration, and a skewed sense of reality give the tale an enjoyable Daniel Pinkwater or Stephen Manes quality. Realistic black-and-white drawings liberally illustrate the text. --Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1564021416
• ISBN 13: 9781564021410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Brazell Derek