Space Case

Space Case by Edward Marshall, pictures by James Marshall

Picture book for children ages 4-8

4 out of 5 stars

A little robot from outer space comes down to Earth to learn about the natives. Although he is called home after only a few days on Earth, he is so intrigued that he wants to come back for another visit!

This simple science fiction book is filled with fun and laughter. Only a sentence or two exists on each page, along with the picture. But this simplicity fits in perfectly with the story. This alien comes from outer space to investigate our world on Earth. He knows nothing except for what he sees or hears other people say, since he does not learn English until the night that he does not sleep and studies the dictionary. Because the alien is simple, the book should be simple as well. The fact that the pictures give away more about the story than the text does, also fits this trend because again the alien must learn about this new world based on his surroundings. The pictures compared to the text on the page also bring comedy into the story, like when the alien tries to talk to a pumpkin or when he calls a lady nice even though she is dressed as a monster for Halloween. Due to the simplicity of the story, as well as the hilarity on many of the pages when comparing the text to the pictures, this book is considered a well written book and one that many young children would enjoy.

If I were teaching a primary grade class, I would definitely use this book, especially around the time of Halloween because that is the day in the story in which the creature from outer space arrives. Also, this book would fit well into a unit on immigration. The little robot thing comes to Earth knowing absolutely nothing about it, not even the language. Even though it is easy for the robot to pick up the language, because he is a robot, he faces many other hardships during his first few days on this new planet. Similar to the way that the alien had trouble adjusting to this new world, immigrants also have a hard time adjusting when they leave their familiar homeland and move to a new one. Students could read this story, then doing a writing activity about what they think it would be like to move to a foreign country, or even to a foreign planet.

Space Case is a Reading Rainbow book, click on the link to find out more about the Reading Rainbow books and the television series.