Children's Book Review - Zog's Big Question: An Interplanentary Tale of Wonder, Belief, and Big Questions by Adam Rice, illustrated by Mac Rice

Zog's Big Question: An Interplanetary Tale of Wonder, Belief, and Big Questions by Adam Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, sweet sci-fi tale that simplifies a complicated concept.

Zog’s Big Question by Adam Rice and colorfully illustrated by Mac Rice delves into the quandary of faith versus science and helps young readers come away with a more comfortable understanding of this complex concept. Zog is a young Questling on the planet Luminos, where the inhabitants are cute, blue, water-drop-shaped creatures with triangular arms and legs and two expressive antennae. They also base their lives and culture on scientifically-proven facts and eat the bounty of the Knowing Fruit Tree. While they may sound comical, they exude a calm and friendly persona that children will find fun and completely non-threatening. Zog has heard that the inhabitants of the planet Terra accept some big ideas without scientific proof, and, finding this totally perplexing, decides to investigate the curious rumor in person. So, he leaves his home in a “borrowed” spacecraft and travels to Terra to see the truth for himself.

While the story was not what I expected, I enjoyed it nonetheless, finding clarity in the simple explanation of how and why faith and science can be complementary. However, I do think a more specific book description, or blurb, regarding the focus on faith is needed as the one provided is so broad, it is a little misleading. I appreciated that while the central characters on Terra, Sam and Max, come from a Catholic-like church, the story emphasizes all religious traditions and not just those of a Christian viewpoint. I liked that the children took Zog to a secular institution for answers, too.

Zog is engaging, and children will easily relate to his curious nature. The illustrations are rendered in calming blues on Luminos, with one drawing very reminiscent of a setting from the movie Avatar, and, once Zog is on Terra (Earth), greens are emphasized, too. At over 40 pages, it is more of a chapter than a picture book, and would be suitable for reading aloud at home, in Sunday school, or in religion classes. I would definitely like to see Zog return in future stories to tackle other adventures.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.


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Children's Book Review: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches From Outer Space! by I.S. Noah

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches From Outer Space!: by I.S. Noah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A delightful children’s SciFi adventure story with amusing political aspects until the children and the adventure were left behind.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches from Outer Space! by author I.S. Noah starts out as a fun and entertaining children’s science fiction adventure with amusing political overtones, but it unexpectedly deviates completely from the children to focus on political satire. The plot is exciting and clever, but a couple of dark moments may make it iffy for younger readers.

The main plot, the children discovering a small alien spacecraft hidden in a forest cave while on a hike and finding out it is that of an alien offspring who has left his parent’s craft without permission to hunt for Big Foot, is delightful. The author crafts a fun tale of the Wilson children: the put-upon older teenage sister, Violet, and her rambunctious and irreverent younger brothers, Brad and Willys, and Violet’s soon-to-be-shellshocked BFF, Pamela Edison. The writing is easy to read and full of laugh-out-loud scenes, many containing relatable, true-to-life interactions among the siblings. Pamela, an only child fresh from a stint as a camp counselor, had no idea what she was getting into by agreeing to help Violet babysit the two Wilson boys.

I loved the aftermath of the Wilsons notifying the feds that they had found Goobex 3’s spacecraft with the ensuing visit, testing, and interrogation in the “Men in Black” style secret underground base. The author includes so many special touches, such as Agent Orange’s unusual effect on people, the ten sniffer dog teams comprised of some less-than-traditional breeds (one’s a PUG), and enough bodily fluids mentioned to thrill the heart of any 10-year-old boy. The author tells a great story for this age range, and yet, underlying the adventure is a dark theme: Willys’s trauma for what he believes he’s inadvertently done to Goobex 3.

The political aspects of the story begin light-heartedly with the author mimicking Trump’s verbal patterns to an amusing “T.” But, as things progress, the children’s involvement is dropped, and the plot focuses solely on how the author envisions Trump’s “first contact” would unfold. While there are unexpected and funny consequences to Trump’s negotiations with the Goobex, I believe younger readers would lose interest in the story before getting to them. This last quarter of the book includes some additional dark images, such as a general shooting a raccoon out of a tree only because he could do so and bystanders drowning when January 6th-type crazies riot outside the Goobex spacecraft. Can children read about these things? Of course. They represent reality. However, these images were left hanging and uncommented upon. Thankfully, the author does wrap up all these events, though, putting everything back into place as if they’d never occurred. But the bottom line for me is what started as a fun children’s adventure lost its way by crossing genre lines and perhaps trying to widen its target audience too much. Still, I would definitely read more by this author.

Content warning: Death of young alien, killing of wildlife, mass deaths in a crowd, negative portrayals of Republicans, President Donald Trump

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

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