Blog Tour: Allen the Alien by Stephanie Ward, illustrated by Aleck Morton
Title: Blog Tour: Allen the Alien
Author: Stephanie Ward, illustrated by Aleck Morton
Genre: Humour
Publisher: Riveted Press
Published: 19th June 2024
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 32
Price: $24.99
Synopsis: Allen and his pet Byte are Earth’s newest Visitors. The Earthlings seem very friendly to Allen – in fact, they run and scream whenever they see him! Thankfully, Allen has brought some of his favourite alien toys along so that he can play with the Earthlings. They’re sure to love his supersonic horn and his x-ray gun. Although Allen is having a lot of fun playing, he doesn’t seem to understand that the Earthlings aren’t quite ready for a guest like him! Allen the Alien is a story about understanding and accepting difference. The simple text tells the story from Allen’s point of view, while the Illustrations reveal that Allen is completely oblivious to the fact that the Earthlings are terrified of him. Readers will love the hilarious reactions of the Earthlings to Allen’s shenanigans, that are captured in the wonderfully quirky illustrations. With a unique artistic style and fantastic rhythm, Allen the Alien is a humorous and multi-layered read.
~*~
Have you ever wondered what aliens want to do when they visit Earth? Perhaps you heard stories about invasions and wars, like in Animorphs, or aliens who kidnap humans for various reasons. Well, there are aliens who just want to explore and make friends with humans, or as they call them, Earthlings. Like Allen, who has come to visit Earth with his pet, Byte. All Allen and Byte want to do is play and make friends during their visit, and play a few games.
But are the Earthlings ready for his x-ray gun and supersonic horn, and the way he plays games? Well, not really, because they’ve never seen anything like Allen’s gear before, and they’re a little scared of it. Allen won’t give up though – he is determined to show them his toys are not that scary, really – they just pack a little more oomph than Earthling toys. And his games are just a bit more extreme than what the Earthling kids he finds to play with. But Allen is determined and resilient – he’s so eager to impress that he keeps trying, because in the end, he knows it will somehow be worth it – that he will have had a great visit to Earth, and hopefully made some new friends.
Allen’s story is about acceptance, and finding your place in a world that might not accept you at first, because people don’t always know what to make of new people. It may be that one party is shy whilst the other is an extrovert who is very keen. It may be that, like in Allen’s story, some of the things he does are unusual and take a bit of getting used to. Sometimes, we just need to take time to get to know people, and it can take a few tries to get through to people, as Allen does throughout this multilayered picture book that promotes acceptance and finding a way to fit in, or show people who you are. Allen’s perspective throughout the book is positive, as he explores the differences between his world and Earth. It’s an interesting take on the alien story trope, as it plays with how and why the alien comes to visit, and how they are received.
Meeting an alien – one from outer space, the ones that we think of when we imagine life on other planets – would be shocking, interesting, and scary for anyone. Allen’s story shows this uncertainty, and his attempts to let everyone know he’s not there to hurt them through simple language and fun illustrations that show how Allen interacts with the Earthlings he meets. Allen’s story reflects what is like moving to a new place or stating a new school and trying to fit in and make new friends. It reflects what children go through when making new friends, trying to share what they like whilst also trying to find out how to play with what is there, and the games that people already know.
Kids will love this fun story, and readers of all ages will find something in the book that they can relate to or understand, making it a book that will be good to discuss many things about friendship and being different, and how the world responds to that.