Aliens for Breakfast (A Stepping Stone Book) - Softcover

Spinner, Stephanie; Etra, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0394820932 ISBN 13: 9780394820934

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1988

Synopsis

It's been ten years since Richard Bickerstaff sat down to breakfast and an alien climbed out of his cereal bowl! Join Richard and Aric, a tiny, wisecracking creature from the planet Ganoob, as they battle to save the world from evil aliens in Aliens for Breakfast, Aliens for Lunch, and Aliens for Dinner. We're reissuing the trilogy with brand-new covers sporting a space age 10th Anniversary logo. Now a new generation of readers can experience the fun and adventure that won these books rave reviews and loyal fans!  

About this title

About the Author

Stephanie Spinner has written many highly praised children’s books, including Alex the Parrot, Aliens for Breakfast (with Jonathan Etra), It’s a Miracle! A Hanukkah Storybook, and the novels Quiver, Quicksilver, and Damosel. She lives in Sherman, Connecticut. To learn more about Stephanie and her books, please visit stephaniespinner.com.

Jonathan Etra was a humorist, playwright, and journalist, as well as a children’s book author. A graduate of Yale University, he wrote articles for Harper’s and Vogue, and was the coauthor of Aliens for Breakfast and Aliens for Lunch. He lived in New York City until his untimely death in 1991.

Steve Björkman's popular, whimsical artwork is regularly featured in numerous magazines, in greeting cards, and in over 30 children's books. The first book he illustrated, Aliens for Breakfast, won the Texas Bluebonnet Award and was made into a TV movie. He lives in Irvine, California, with his wife and three children.

Reviews

This short, eight-chapter novel has a zany premise loaded with reader appeal but, disappointingly, never takes off. Richard sits down to breakfast one morning and discovers that his bowlful of Alien Crisp cereal is home to the real thinga tiny, talkative alien named Aric, who explains that he has come to save Earth from the evil Dranes, a rival alien race. One of them has already taken up residence; it is, in fact, Dorf, the eerily cool, instantly popular new boy in Richard's class. Richard must destroy Dorf before it is too late, but Aric has forgotten the correct method for doing that. Richard and Aric's efforts are tame and uninspired, the turns of plot seem random rather than carefully thought out, and the eventual solution (feeding Dorf large quantities of red pepper, which causes him to explode) requires little ingenuity or initiative on Richard's part. Loose, rather quirky pen-and-ink illustrations are a dashing addition to what is otherwise easily forgotten fare. Ages 7-9.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394820932
• ISBN 13: 9780394820934
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Björkman Steve
• Number of pages: 64