Rustys Space Ship

by Evelyn Sibley Lampman

"There was no way for Rusty Adams to know that the shiny metal disc he had found at the city dump and used on his play space ship in the garage, was actually the flying saucer of the Mighty Gwump of Eopee in Adromeda Galaxy. When tiny Tiphia, Gwump's messenger, arrived to claim it, Rusty and his playmate Susan Northrup found themselves taking an unexpected trip to all of the planets, except Neptune and Plato. Rusty and Susan save Tiphia from attack by ants and other hazards as he vainly tries to find the moon, Eopee. It's Rusty who realizes finally that Tiphia is simply in the wrong galaxy. This is a Baedeker of Outer Space." (Kirkus Review)

Genres: Science Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

(1907-1980) Mrs. Lampman grew up in Dallas, Oregon, granddaughter of pioneers in that region. She graduated from Oregon State and worked for many years in radio. Her first book was published in 1948, and she was most recognized for sensitive books about racial minorities, especially Native Americans.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my first and favorite childhood science fiction books, along with "Danger: Dinosaurs" and the Tom Corbett series. These days it highlights how little was known, and how wrong we were, about the planets and the rest of the solar system as recently as the 1950s. Still, the whimsical fantasy and amusing characters hold up well.

[Sandy Ladd-Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites from the school library. It is still just as delightful as it was then

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite that I finally found online to purchase. While not exactly as I remember (the alien is sort of a prissy b***h), it was still fun! Not quite as 1950s sexist as I thought it would be either (good, considering the author was female).

[Marilyn Brine Gilmour]

I read this while babysitting a long time ago. One of my first science fiction books, I loved it! It also taught me about constellations (Andromeda) and faraway islands...

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this to read to my son (age 7) at bedtime, based solely on the cover illustration and a quick read of the first chapter. He loved it so much that he's asking me to buy a copy so that he can read it himself, over and over. Tiphia the space lizard's bizarre inability to remember the location of his home planet (or rather, satellite) seemed a rather lazy premise to drag Rusty, Susan, and Cookie through most of the solar system, so I can't give it the 5 stars that my son certainly would have. But it was a fun read. I liked the challenging mixture of hard facts about outer space and the obviously fictional (even for the time) descriptions of visits to the planets (e.g., treacherous blobs on Venus, fish on Mars). I thought that juxtaposition would be too much for my son ("But, Papa, Venus is way too hot for that!"), but he mostly just rolled with it. I also liked that the Earth kids had to learn how to not breathe to survive in space, though their frequent reliance on Tiphia's rainbow assortment of helpful pills screamed "Suddenly it's 1960!". On that note, there's for sure some gender stereotypes being reinforced here, but nothing that seemed shockingly dated, to me anyway.

[Michael Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended for young readers, but also a pleasure for older ones (and you can't get much older than I), "Rusty's Space Ship" is charming, it's an introduction to space stories, and it's made nearly great by the wonderful illustrations.
One early reviewer, when the book was new, compared it to "Alice in Wonderland" and the illustrations by Tenniel.
That was a very apt comment.
Author Lampman was quite a busy author, and she had wide interests and knowledge. I recommend especially "Rusty's Space Ship" but also her other works.