Review by Horn Book Review
"Old MacDonald had a farm" until a spaceship arrives and beams up his animals: "With a ZERP ZAP here, / and a ZERP ZAP there." Now space alien Old MacMartian and his doglike pet have all those animals on their ship -- with humorous results. Initially perplexed, the cow, pig, cat, and sheep proceed to wreak havoc in close quarters ("With a GLOOP GLOOP here / and a GLOOP GLOOP there / ...Old MacMartian needs a bath"). After failed attempts at corralling the creatures, the exhausted would-be extraterrestrial farmer tries for sleep -- but these sheep aren't the counting type. Old MacMartian proceeds to expel this onboard barnyard back down to Earth, to both farmers' relief. The humorous pencil and digital illustrations center goggle-eyed characters -- earthlings with two eyes, extraterrestrials with three -- with funny facial expressions recalling Sandra Boynton's menagerie. Details on the spaceship, among all the cheerful chaos, will have listeners looking closely to track the destruction. "But they CLEANED UP here / and they CLEANED UP there," and by the end, the Martian protagonist concludes, "IT'S NICE TO BE ALONE" with a loyal doglike sidekick and a lesson learned about alien abduction. Elissa GershowitzJuly/August 2025 p.88 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Martian gets more than he bargained for when he abducts some farm animals. Written to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," this frolicsome ditty follows a curious alien as he wonders about the animals that he sees on Earth. "With a ZERP ZAP here, / and a ZERP ZAP there," the sheep, cat, cow, and pig all go flying up into the spaceship; the light-skinned farmer stays behind, but the alien zaps up the farmer's overalls and boots and happily dons them. With three eyes and a bulbous pink head, Old MacMartian attempts to run some experiments on the animals, but the livestock have other ideas. The cow munches on everything in sight (including the Martian's prized marshmallows), the pig splatters mud everywhere, and the sheep and cat run amok. Old MacMartian and his three-eyed dog are overwhelmed. To put a stop to the mayhem, he returns the barnyard animals to the farmer ("BACK TO EARTH YOU GO!"). Storytime audiences will delight in the repeated titular refrain ("E-I-UFO"), and space enthusiasts will enjoy seeing the intricate mechanisms and control panel inside the spaceship. The rollicking narrative may take some practice to avoid falling back into the familiar lyrics of the original, but it's easy enough to grasp. Lively, playful, singalong fun.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
