Aliens Are Coming!
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the true account of the 1938 War of the worlds radio broadcast
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Add Age Suitabilityred_bee_499 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 7 and 10
red_dog_3230 thinks this title is suitable for All Ages
ELIZABETH RAMSEY BIRD thinks this title is suitable for 6 years and over
red_bat_347 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 15
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blue_rabbit_308 thinks this title is suitable for 9 years and over
red_falcon_120 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 99 and 28
Summary
Add a SummaryIt's the 1930s! Good old 1930s. Open the book and here's a cheery announcer telling kids that back in the thirties the primary source of entertainment and information was the radio. It then explains that some people "were easily fooled by a radio play that sounded like an actual news bulletin". Turn the page, and everything is black and white. We're looking at a typical American street scene. "It was October, 30, 1938, the day before Halloween". We next see a nice black and white scene of a family gathered in their living room. The noise coming out of the radio forms into colorful dancing sequences. Suddenly an announcer comes on and starts talking about a flaming meteorite that has fallen in New Jersey. As the listeners grow worried, the scene shifts to a field where a group of people stand around as a flying saucer slowly begins to open up. It's aliens! And they've come to conquer us all! They ransack the farmlands. They invade the cities. They land all over the country. "Was this the end of the world?" Certainly a lot of people listening thought so. The pictures are back to black and white and we're seeing clogged highways and jammed phone lines, and police investigating perfectly calm fields in the country. It wasn't the end of the world. It was Orson Welles and his troupe of actors at the Mercury Theatre performing a realistic version of "War of the Worlds". Interesting factual information rounds off the book with the true story and fun info about subsequent readings of the story (with similar results).
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Add a Comment30 October 1938. A day of panic & pandemonium or entertainment & fun? According to CBS radio - Columbia Broadcasting System - there was a Martian invasion occurring. It was a play put on by actors from the Mercury Theatre on CBS radio. This tale is informative, educational, fun to read, comical, and entertaining, since the readers know that this is fiction. *Delightful escape from reality for young readers, especially those that enjoy sci-fi stories and fascinating "pranks."
You don't expect something called, "Aliens Are Coming" to be factual. You especially don't expect it to tell the truth when you flip through the pages and see large multi-tentacle-laden outer space beasties terrorizing the natural landscape. But then, it helps to know your history. Seeing the 1938 radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" for what it truly was (perfect picture book fare), McCarthy gives us, thrills, chills, and some wonderful little factoids in the back of what I might well call my favorite non-fiction picture book of 2006.