By Melissa Soelter
Library Assistant,
Lincoln County Library

If you love cats, or their amusing behavior, and enjoy reading “Strange Planet” comics by Nathan W. Pyle, I have just the children’s’ book for you. Lately, “Strange Planet” comics have been taking over my Facebook feed. When you click on one, hundreds more pop up. They are a bit quirky, and I love how they describe everyday objects through the point of view of little blue aliens. Of course, I had to read the book “Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature” the second I saw it on the shelf.

This book follows what appears to be a child alien and a parent as they observe the behavior of a strange creature on the loose in their house. From the illustrations you can tell that this creature must be a cat. The plot is fairly simple. However, nothing is named using our everyday words. That is how all “Strange Planet” comics work, and one of the reasons I love these comics, and this book, so much.

Beyond its entertainment value, and that I was thoroughly entertained, “Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature” can be used for more educational type activities. One activity could be vocabulary building. You can talk about the meaning of the word observation with your child, and take a similar hunt as these two aliens. I had a fun time figuring out what was being described. For example, a “rest slab” describes a bed. Automatically I think about doing an activity describing everyday objects using observations.

Overall, this book was a fun read and I recommend it to everybody. Don’t let its children’s’ book format discourage you from reading it. It is definitely worth the read. “Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature” by Nathan W. Pyle is available throughout the Lincoln County Library System.