cover image Is That You, Alien?

Is That You, Alien?

Illus. by Steve Cox. Barron’s, $12.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7641-6712-6

In this addition to the interactive Is That You? series, a boy named Zak and his friends search for signs of alien life in Zak’s moonlit backyard. As in the previous books, flaps embedded in the pages invite readers to slide their hands inside paper pockets (“Alien may be lurking so beware!”), where different textures await. A rough-feeling object isn’t “the alien’s wrinkly skin!” but rather a dog’s toy covered in sand; a sticky surface isn’t an “alien’s sticky dribble!” but a rotting pear. Cox’s cartooning keeps things from getting too scary, and after all the false alarms, the pop-up ending should still catch some readers by surprise. Ages 3–6. (June)