Cute and wordless ( )

alien ship with tiny robots appears; Jack (the dog) and his boy feed them cold cereal ( )

Age: Primary
Media: Water Colors

The genre of this book is science fiction. It is science fiction because it takes characters who could be real, and places them in the hands of robots/aliens. The main characters in this book are Jack the dog and the boy. There are no words, so it is hard to understand who the characters are, but we are revealed some of their emotions through the pictures in the story. They are flat characters. The setting of this book is in their house and also in the space ship. It is important to the book because it solidifies the genre of the story. ( )

Schories, Pat. (2006). Jack and the night visitors. Asheville, NC: Front Street Inc.
Jack and his boy are awakened by a light shining into their bedroom window. Out on the roof is a space vehicle with many robotic beings inside waving at him. These beings come into his room, investigate things and leave everything a mess. The boy even feeds them when they gesture that they are hungry. As the aliens are starting to leave, the boy tries to capture one of the aliens to keep in a jar. Jack pulls off the lid and lets it escape. Off goes the alien to meet the rest at their ship as the boy smiles at his nighttime adventure. This is a delightful wordless book in which the pictures really do tell the story. All elementary children will love the antics and humorous depictions of the aliens as they explore and play with all of the boy's toys. I can see using this book as a springboard for reader's theater and acting.

This is a good way to introduce young children to reading. This book has a straightforward, easy to follow storyline and relatable characters. Different formats of the illustrations (some on a single page, some across both pages, some pages with multiple images, some with borders etc.) keep it from seeming repetitive. Childlike illustrations would appeal to young audiences, as would the notion of making new friends who may appear different. Older readers could analyze the story more deeply and conclude that the robot aliens are representative of Jack’s imagination, and he fails to keep one in a glass jar as imagination is not a permanent thing that can be preserved in one state forever. All in all, a sweet little tale.