We're Off to Look for Aliens Book

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would and I'm sure plenty of kids will too. 'We're Off to Look for Aliens' is a fun picture book, a bit large being wider than A4 but only a touch shorter. Each page inside is a thick and glossy page with very colourful pictures throughout. The book is clever as it's a story within story and narrated by a child. The first pages are about Dad and the new children's book he's created. He shows it to the kids and they all read the book which happens to have the same title and author as the one we are reading.

The story in the book is funny with brilliant repetitive lines. An example of the first page of this is: We're off to look for aliens, Ugly-bugly aliens, We're off to look for aliens, Wilberforce and I. This 'Wilberforce and I' rhyme keeps repeating on every page with the rest of the text following the same rhyme. You actually get into a rhythm reading this story and every turn of the page is fun to read.

The illustrations are very colourful and funny. There's actually two sets of illustrations with the outer story looking a little more old-fashioned and the pictures from the book the kids are reading being a bit different, with lines being darker and a generally different feel to them. I really like the different aliens in the book and how strange some of them look. I actually really enjoyed the illustrations more than I thought I would as there's quite a lot to see on many pages and the designs of the creatures are different to ones I often see.

The ending of the book has a very fun twist that really made me laugh as I wasn't expecting it. I think this book will have a wide appeal to both kids and even some adults and the repetitive sing-song nature of the inner story will keep many entertained. I'd definitely read this book again. I actually didn't think I'd find it as fun as I did and I'd definitely recommend it, if just for that twist ending!
-Thanks to Walker books for a free copy.