Spike and Alienson by Malaika Rose Stanley illustrated by Sarah Horne

An alien story with a twist. I usually avoid reading books about aliens but I’m glad that I read this one because, it make me laugh and it also made my husband laugh when I retold the story to him.

The story revolves around Spike who like so many children react badly when another baby arrives on the scene. He cannot get over how his life has been disrupted by his baby brother. He constantly complains about the noise, smell and is dumbfounded by adult’s soppy behaviour when they see his baby brother. As a result of this he decides that his baby brother is an alien (not an uncommon thought in these circumstances) and resolves to try and get rid of him. But how to do it? He finally hit on a solution which ultimately created more problems than it solved. I won’t tell you how the story ends because that will spoil your enjoyment.

I think this book is cleverly written to make the reader think this is about sibling rivalry. You are also told that Spike is adopted because his mum cannot have children, so how could she have had a baby unless it was implanted by an alien (child’s point of view), this adds to this impression.

The black and white images by Sarah Horne reflect the humor of the text.

If you are a teacher this book is great for character description, plot, pace and dropping in hints to move the story on. Not forgetting a play on words, look at the title.

Watch and listen to the author reading an extract.