Star Hatchling

by Margaret Bechard

The female-dominated culture of a distant planet encounters human beings for the first time

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction Fantasy

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Margaret Bechard is the author of five novels for younger readers, and one other young adult novel, IF IT DOESN'T KILL YOU, which SLJ praised for its "healthy dose of humor." She lives in Tigard, Oregon, with her family.

Reviews

[Xenon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book when I was in elementary…I must've read it at least ten times. It's the first science fiction novel I ever read and it's the reason I still love science fiction to this day.

[Penelope Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author did a great job with the aliens, their culture, and with the Star Hatchling. It pulled me in and I had a hard time putting the book down until I finished it. :)

Shem was a delight. I don't know who made me laugh more, Shem or the Hatchling. (Cheko, Shem's sister, also had her moments, but Shem and the Star Hatchling were a riot at times. XD) But I appreciated Shem's point of view a lot. Especially when it came to some things about the Star Hatchling. It was genius.

This was my second time reading this book, and I enjoyed it both times. I was so confused by the synopsis at first. Younger me didn't realize that the aliens had a female-dominated culture; I just accepted their alien culture as it was without thinking too much about it. I kept that in mind while reading this time and I do see it clearly now. XD

[Ricki · Rating 5 out of 5]

For awhile in my childhood, this was my favorite book. What I remember now is that the author doesn't spell things out for you. I enjoyed that I was thrown, in medias res, into an alien culture that I had to understand clue by clue, like cracking a cryptogram or solving a mystery. I loved that the book involved me in this way and made me feel clever. By not dumping in explanations about everything, it also put me in a similar position to Hanna, the human who discovers the strange creatures. She has no frame of reference and can't understand their language, and has to learn about them slowly. On the other hand, the fact that half of the book is written from the reptiles' point of view also puts me in their place. Seeing Hanna as the alien was very interesting to me as a kid: understanding humans/myself/people like me from the point of view of the Other is a great lesson to teach.

[Taylor Manrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Shem and his village on an unknown planet. One day, Shem and his sister Cheko find a strange being on their planet, a being that they believe to be an "other", evil creatures that always threatening their species. Shem and Cheko realize that this being is different, not an other, but a human! The human has ended up on the wrong planet and is trying to find a way to get back to Earth to be reunited with her family. The human must stay in Shem's village while they figure out how to get her home, taking in a different way of live and how another species live son other planets. The tone and language of this book is a little mature for young readers, therefore it should be targeted more towards high school-level readers. the mysterious and tense mood of the book keeps readers eager to know what will happen next in the story, which the author expressed through very descriptive language. I really enjoyed the concept behind this book, especially since it dealt with diversity and common bonds among different species. Although they are completely different in all ways, Shem and the human are able to set aside their differences to work together to get her home. This completely defers from social norms, as there is a lot of discrimination and hatred in this world, so this book was very refreshing in that aspect. I as the reader sympathized with the characters in the story, especially since if I was to end up on a different planet, I would hope that the creatures there would help me. The author did a good job of capturing the theme of science fiction in an interesting and heart-warming way. I would use this book as a teaching tool by sticking with the theme of teamwork and setting aside differences to work together. The students will pair up and use their separate and creative minds to come up with a way that they would get the human girl home if they were Shem.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanna crash-lands on an alien planet, separated from her family. Shem and Cheko find her and at first believe she is a strange animal from the stars and try to tame her. Multiple POVs, pretty interesting.

[Emily Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely has the feel of a classic sci-fi adventure. I think that the language choices in it are probably a little advanced for younger audiences, but the right 4th-7th grader could really enjoy the story. I wish it was longer- but it wraps up the story nicely nonetheless.

[Lejia T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid! Read and re-read it! As a middle school girl it was inspiring. The main character is a young smart and brave young female. So happy I purchased this at our book fair back in the day.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in elementary school and loved it.

[Nicole Beck]

This book was given to me by an older relative, and I found I liked it. It's told half from the point of view of an alien and half from an Earth child who's lost on his planet.

[Emily Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little hard to get into, with all the made-up alien names for things, but in the end it was definitely a very sweet book.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet, funny-- think E.T. from the Alien's POV --- definitely fun for upper elementary through early MG readers

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is good and i would suggest to a friend

[LOL_BOOKS]

GIRL IS STRANDED ON ALIEN PLANET WHILE LOOKING FOR HER MOTHER, MAKES FRANDS WITH AWESOME YET BIZAREE ALIEN TEENIES. ADULTS OF BOTH SPECIES DISAPPROVE.

[Cailyn]

Star Hatchling is a story that involves unrealistic and science fiction characters an settings with very realistic topics. Shelum, the main character one day finds a weird hatchling within her village. Her sister Cheko and Shelum have no choice but to investigate what this scary hatchling may be. They soon learn that this hatchling is an "other", a creature that looks just like a human but from another planet. Shem and Cheko, go on the mission to help return this hatchling to her home star.
my one critique for this book is that i found it to be slow in the progression of the plot. i felt as a reader i could have potentially lost interest because the pass was slower then i would have wished.