The Aliens Do Not Want to Go Home!, by Adam Gustavson, (June 2025, Charlesbridge Publishing), $17.99, ISBN: 9781623544942
Ages 4-7
This hilarious book is perfect for every single grownup who has had to endure the end of a playdate/family or friend gathering/insert your own dilemma here. A group of adorable aliens are not ready to go home, and the laugh-out-loud narrative will list all of the reasons, which sound suspiciously like ones we’ve all heard before: they haven’t said good bye yet! They have to put on their shoes (it’s ALWAYS the shoes)! It’s not even dark out, and they have to do something very important that absolutely, positively, cannot be done at home! It’s been so long since their last sleepover; maybe they can just borrow a pair of pajamas? So many delaying tactics; so many excuses, but the aliens are just not ready to go home. Gustavson’s adorable illustrations show aliens engaging in very kid-like behavior and making the funniest faces to delight young readers, who will see themselves in these quirky creatures. The little critters frolic through crop circles and scale clock towers, clean up their messes and settle in at a drive-in just as the tractor beams pull them up from their reverie, still pleading their cases. A must-have for storytime collections, this will be a home-run readaloud that kids will want to hear again and again.
Mom Read It 