Title: Rod Allbright Alien Adventures - Bruce Coville Media: Middle Grade Novels Approximate Length: Four children's novels adding up to about 800 pages (large print)
What It's About This series follows the adventures of Rod Allbright, a middle schooler living on a farm with his single mother and two younger siblings, whose life is irrevocably changed the day a spaceship crash-lands on the property.
The first book, Aliens Ate My Homework, introduces Rod to the crew of the Ferkel, a small unit of the Galactic Patrol who've come to Earth chasing a fugitive. In I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, Rod is pulled into another mission, and the crew are shaken by the disappearance of one of their own. This is followed immediately by The Search for Snout, in which the crew search for their missing comrade and secrets are revealed about Rod's estranged father. Finally, in Aliens Stole My Body, Rod is put to the test to save his family and time itself.
Where to Find It Originally published in the 1990s, paperback copies were last released as a box set in 2018 and are available through the publisher and other retailers. They're also available in ebook format through library providers like OverDrive and for sale for Kindle (1, 2, 3, 4) and Kobo (1, 2, 3, 4), as well as through Google Play (1, 2, 3, 4).
What I Love About It If The Search for Snout sounded like a Star Trek reference, it was. And more than that, the characters of Captain Grakker and Mental Officer Snout aren't just loosely based on Kirk and Spock but specifically based on Kirk/Spock. The two share a private bedroom and are psychically bonded on top of being uniquely affectionate with each other, and their separation and reunion are a driving force for most of the series.
I appreciate series for the whimsical and diverse universe it presents that doesn't revolve around humans, its themes of the importance of kindness and conscience, and for Rod's good heart and understandable fears as he comes of age. But I won't lie, I re-read it with new delight for the xeno Kirk/Spock expies having a surprisingly mature background arc about the things we give up for love.
I've Requested Grakker/Snout! Backstory, post-canon, 'pon farr' fic—anything that puts more of this hotheaded green gorilla and his beloved dry-witted lizard companion into the world.
Promo: Rod Allbright Alien Adventures - Bruce Coville
Media: Middle Grade Novels
Approximate Length: Four children's novels adding up to about 800 pages (large print)
What It's About
This series follows the adventures of Rod Allbright, a middle schooler living on a farm with his single mother and two younger siblings, whose life is irrevocably changed the day a spaceship crash-lands on the property.
The first book, Aliens Ate My Homework, introduces Rod to the crew of the Ferkel, a small unit of the Galactic Patrol who've come to Earth chasing a fugitive. In I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, Rod is pulled into another mission, and the crew are shaken by the disappearance of one of their own. This is followed immediately by The Search for Snout, in which the crew search for their missing comrade and secrets are revealed about Rod's estranged father. Finally, in Aliens Stole My Body, Rod is put to the test to save his family and time itself.
Where to Find It
Originally published in the 1990s, paperback copies were last released as a box set in 2018 and are available through the publisher and other retailers. They're also available in ebook format through library providers like OverDrive and for sale for Kindle (1, 2, 3, 4) and Kobo (1, 2, 3, 4), as well as through Google Play (1, 2, 3, 4).
What I Love About It
If The Search for Snout sounded like a Star Trek reference, it was. And more than that, the characters of Captain Grakker and Mental Officer Snout aren't just loosely based on Kirk and Spock but specifically based on Kirk/Spock. The two share a private bedroom and are psychically bonded on top of being uniquely affectionate with each other, and their separation and reunion are a driving force for most of the series.
I appreciate series for the whimsical and diverse universe it presents that doesn't revolve around humans, its themes of the importance of kindness and conscience, and for Rod's good heart and understandable fears as he comes of age. But I won't lie, I re-read it with new delight for the xeno Kirk/Spock expies having a surprisingly mature background arc about the things we give up for love.
I've Requested
Grakker/Snout! Backstory, post-canon, 'pon farr' fic—anything that puts more of this hotheaded green gorilla and his beloved dry-witted lizard companion into the world.