When an Alien Meets a Swamp Monster

by Cornelius Van Wright

Could two little boys who scare each other silly ever become friends?

When Alik and Boi accidentally bump into each other at the pond, they aren’t exactly thrilled. In fact, they’re terrified! Boi thinks Alik is a swamp monster, and Alik thinks Boi is a space alien. Both run home in a panic to share their news, but their families don’t believe them. If only Alik and Boi can drum up the courage to venture back outside, they just might cross paths again and realize how much they have in common.

With an encouraging message about second chances and looking past appearances, this delightfully absurd story about two very different-looking adventurers is full of laugh-out-loud, action-packed fun. It’s perfect for fans of funny books like Shark vs. Train and Children Make Terrible Pets .

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters, Friendship, Childrens, Aliens, Science Fiction Fantasy, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2014

About the author

Cornelius Van Wright has illustrated numerous picture books, including several he co-illustrated with his wife, Ying Hwa-Hu, including Princess Grace (by Mary Hoffman), Sam and the Lucky Money (by Karen Chinn), and Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree (by William Miller). His work has appeared on Reading Rainbow and Storytime and has been exhibited with the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy is racing his scooter when he runs into an alligator. Needless to say, they are both shocked to see a scary creature - alien (boy) and swamp monster (alligator).

A story of unlikely friendship. Fun and entertaining picture book.

[J.M. (Joe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, fun story. Read it to my 5 year old. Only complaint is it’s too short and ends rather abruptly, which kept it from being 4 stars.

[Amber Haynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when an alien meets a swamp monster? You get a funny story that is great for the classroom to teach point of view. Boi and Alik were all set out to have a "too totally awesome" day when all of a sudden, they run right into each other. Without a second thought, they both race home to tell their story.

This book is entertaining enough to draw in even your most reluctant reader to make it all the way through to the end. The illustrations bring the story line to life. Because of the wording, and base level vocabulary,I would recommend this book for kindergarten and first grade use.

The cliffhanger ending, leaves endless possibilities for writing practice in the classroom, as well. This book would not be a bad addition to your collection.

[Dixie Maier · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 yells for this one! “When an Alien meets a Swamp Monster” is a hilariously funny picture book for children 6 to 9 years old.

Cornelius Van Wright’s “When an Alien meets a Swamp Monster” is the story of J.T. Boi and Alik Thornybrooke, two strangers who meet in an unexpected fate. Both run home to share what they just experienced. Alik tells his brother that he meets an alien, while J.T. tells his sister that he meets a swamp monster. They meet again after discovering items left behind.

I gave this book 5-stars because it had me cracking up. The images and fonts make it fun and inviting for children to read. I like the illustrations of J.T. and Alik, they are exactly what I expected them to look like. I let my nephew pick between this and another book (I ended up reading both), but he was laughing so hard throughout the entire thing. He was able to pay attention throughout the entire thing, which was a plus for me, because I thought this was an 8 and up book, simply because of the length. But I asked some questions and he was able to answer them all. This book is defiantly worth a read!

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book just goes to show how it's all in the eye of a beholder. A young boy runs into a alligator-type creature at the local pond and is convinced he's come across a swamp monster and NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HIM! And a alligator-type creature comes across a young boy at the local pond and is convinced he was attacked by an alien and NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HIM!

Illustrations are kooky and fun.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story and the illustrations. Laugh out loud funny and so much fun!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could possibly happen when two complete strangers accidentally bump into each other at swamp pond? A friendship, perhaps?

[Stella Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great to talk to children about points of view and perspective. In When an Alien Meets a Swamp Monster, a boy and a crocodile (alligator? I'm never sure) run across each other and have different ideas of what happened.

And the big funny words are awesome - "volumetric overhaul stabilizers." Things that little boys all over the world are saying as they play on their bikes, scooters, roller skates, boxes, etc.

Illustrations are well done. In fact, the book has an almost comic book feel to it - even though it doesn't have a traditional comic book layout.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books is fun on so many different levels.
First, it speaks boy. The kids name is JT Boi and it uses words like "Verometic outerhull stabilizers"? The book uses OMG (a modern acronym of "Oh My gosh")

Then it is a book about seeing things from other peoples perspective. The boy thinks the alligators is an alien...Kai the Alligator thinks this boy being is an alien...but when they come together trying not to be scared... they see eye to eye and realize where the other is 'coming from'. Fun one to read

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance, the illustrations were appealing and fun - I love the big scared eyes, and how when they meet and run away from each other, it looks like they are running off the page. But on closer look, it looks like Cassie's bubble from her bubble gum is touching his ear, and why is it that Kai, the smart one, wears glasses?
Some of the text is too trendy: "Mellow-Tyme tea" and that his scooter is powered by wind.
This book would be useful to start discussion about perspective - both in illustrations and point-of-view.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for older ECE readers and younger Elementary readers because it is fun and it is presented in a cartoon/comic book-like style. I wanted more from the development of the characters' relationship by the end of the book, but the text and images made it fun to read all the same.

[Marfita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storytiiiime! This is just in time for my Alien storytime in the park!
Very cute story with great illustrations (especially that two-page spread when they first meet up) about a boy and a gator (?) who meet precipitously and mistake each other for a swamp monster and an alien.
Charming!

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork make this pleasing to the eye. It's about a boy and a swamp monster who bump into each other and get scared. They later find out that they share common interests. The only problem is that the ending is abrupt and the conclusion rather in satisfying.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun, entertaining book. Kids will like it. However I didn't find it that appealing. I do like the lesson of not making assumptions about people based on how they look.

For teachers... While I didn't like this book, I could see another person really liking it.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, absurd romp.

[Robin Rockman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute...plan to test with preschoolers.

[Diana Pettis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this story was ok. The story line was predictable. I would not rush out to read this one.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost want to mark this a sci fi since the word alien is in the title, but you come to find out that is not the case. Fun story of a friendship that gets off on the wrong foot.