Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this speculative metafictional romp, readers open the covers to find themselves on one side of an apparent space portal staring at Zrk and Blrg, two bottle-shaped creatures--one chartreuse, one traffic-cone orange--whose googly eyes move around their faces. "ALIENS ARE REAL!!!!" they shout, sure they're about to be devoured. But after assuring themselves that humans' pearly whites are tiny and unthreatening, first contact turns into a cosmic meet-cute. Zrk and Blrg ask about "Planeturth"--though it's hardly a peer of their home planet Xyl (which translates to "most important planet in the most important solar system in the most important galaxy in the universe")--and introduce readers to their vibrantly colored friends, who, after a moment of trepidation, respond with friendly chorus of "Hi!" It seems like the beginning of a beautiful intergalactic friendship, but sharp-eyed readers will note the "power" and "auto translate" buttons on each spread shifting from green to ominous yellow, setting up a sudden farewell. Portis (A New Green Day) has cooked up something wonderfully weird and slyly relevant--both an interactive experience and a comic reminder that perspective is relative. Ages 4--8. Agent: Deborah Warren, East/West Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
The opening spread of this meta intergalactic romp should entice viewers: a small orange square with a smaller black circle at its center sits in the middle of a full-bleed black background. "Hey!" appears in white on the left. At bottom right are two small green (for the moment) circles labeled "power" and "auto translate." Turn the page; the center square is bigger, and a large eye with an orange iris and black pupil is clearly visible. It's soon apparent that we are the "something out there" that two gourd-shaped creatures -- Zrk and Blrg -- are looking at through the newly opened space portal (see title). After freaking out ("ALIENS ARE REAL!!!!"), Zrk and Blrg engage readers in conversation: "Hey alien, can you talk?" "Planeturth? Never heard of it." The brightly colored, heavily black-outlined characters take center stage in Portis's eye-catching and varied compositions, as do their playful personalities. Telling readers, "Make a hungry face, Alien! Can you make your teeth bigger?" they then prank their buddies: "Ha! We did not run away like our friends!" When the power indicator turns yellow, the portal begins to close; Blrg and Zrk hurry to convey a message to "planeturthlings," but it remains a mystery. The auto translator turns red as they say, "SKF FLRBL GRNK!" The clever premise stands up to repeat readings -- power up this interactive adventure for out-of-this-world storytimes. Kitty FlynnSeptember/October 2025 p.50 (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
Diplomacy is easy--if you don't look hungry. Opening this book, savvy readers will spot the wordspower andauto translate in the bottom-right-hand corner of each double-page spread, with a colorful dot by each indicating the battery life of the device…er, book. Within a few page turns, a portal opens to reveal two extraterrestrial friends, yellow-skinned Blrg and orange-skinned Zrk. While the alien duo initially worry that readers are here to eat them, these concerns evaporate when they notice those "very tiny teeth." While some messages get a little garbled ("What is your planet called? Planeturth? Never heard of it"), the interaction is mostly pleasant, and a colorful menagerie of extraterrestrials come to gawk before the book's power level drops enough that the portal must close. Overall, it's an amusing plot device, and one that will generate a lot of giggles from a receptive audience. Thickly outlined in black, the bold illustrations will show well to a large storytime. Portis provides extreme close-ups that give the artwork a surreal, Cubist feeling. Blrg's and Zrk's amorphous faces may initially confuse perceptive readers--the number of eyes on the aliens varies from one to two--but the visual gag is addressed in the text. UFO lovers will find this tale heavenly. Zany, out-of-this-world fun.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
