By Chloe Savage
Published by Candlewick
Mom's Review
What looks like a sci-fi alien search picture book on the surface is actually an analysis of what gives meaning to our lives.
When an exploration crew has been searching for life on distant planets for ten years with no success, they are ready to turn around. Getting on one another's last nerves (I love how Julia is ready to lose it if she hears Dan sneeze one more time), they agree to look at one final planet. There, the inhabitants befriend the crew's dog before welcoming the humans. The humans approach their interactions from a scientific inquiry standpoint at first, but then realize that planet's inhabitants have a completely different approach to life, one which the humans find they prefer as well. The "space creatures " place value on enjoying life - not in hedonistic or consumeristic manner, but in a way that reverences all life around them and that fills one with an internal sense of contentment. The "aliens" (humans) are welcomed in peace and invited to coexist peacefully. The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbors reminds us to focus on the pleasure we find in knowing the natural world and one another (even if our loved ones' chewing sounds are annoying).
When an exploration crew has been searching for life on distant planets for ten years with no success, they are ready to turn around. Getting on one another's last nerves (I love how Julia is ready to lose it if she hears Dan sneeze one more time), they agree to look at one final planet. There, the inhabitants befriend the crew's dog before welcoming the humans. The humans approach their interactions from a scientific inquiry standpoint at first, but then realize that planet's inhabitants have a completely different approach to life, one which the humans find they prefer as well. The "space creatures " place value on enjoying life - not in hedonistic or consumeristic manner, but in a way that reverences all life around them and that fills one with an internal sense of contentment. The "aliens" (humans) are welcomed in peace and invited to coexist peacefully. The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbors reminds us to focus on the pleasure we find in knowing the natural world and one another (even if our loved ones' chewing sounds are annoying).
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