Zartog's Remote,Used

From Publishers Weekly Brennan (The Mystery Machine) stretches an already slim conceit in this lightweight fantasy. A young creature from another planet breaks the rules ("It was absolutely forbidden to land on an alien planet if you were Zartog's age") and brings his spaceship to "a planet circling Sol in the Milky Way." There (on Earth), he briefly encounters a girl named Rachel and her dog, and unknowingly they switch their remote controls: Zartog flies off with the remote for Rachel's TV, leaving her with the remote for his flying saucer. Rachel uses Zartog's remote to best a trio of bullies (they pick on "little kids who were a different color than themselves," like Rachel). Meanwhile, Zartog's talking computer takes charge, spouting emergency code words and availing Zartog of a time machine (don't ask) in order to help Zartog fly his saucer back home. Sometimes Brennan's humor is subtle (Rachel's dog, Lord Percy, has a sad expression because "his mother had been frightened by a bloodhound"); often it is outr (when Rachel uses Zartog's remote to change the bullies into a series of animals, the list of transformations goes on for more than two pages). Final artwork (by the author/artist of Smile If You're Human) not seen by PW. Ages 712. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Product Description An eightyearold Earth girl helps a visiting eightyearold extraterrestrial after he loses the remote control device for his flying saucer. From School Library Journal Gr 35Two parallel plots quickly unfold in this scifi adventure. Zartog, an eightyearold alien, takes his family's flying saucer for a spin, travels beyond the limits his parents have set, and decides to do the forbidden and land on Earth. There, plucky eightyearold Rachel is the target of bullies who enjoy picking on smaller kids, especially those who are of a different color. Zartog steps out of his ship and promptly loses his remote control, a special device that allows him to run his flying saucer and to change an object from one thing into another. When Rachel and her dog arrive on the scene, he is so frightened that he flees, and the girl picks up the device. He soon discovers that without the powerful remote, the ship cannot make the long trip back home. Thus, Zartog is forced to face his fears. Armed with the remote, Rachel takes on the bullies, and changes them into a host of objects from a pair of glasses to a penguin to a hamster. Ultimately, she returns the device to the alien, and the two find courage. The text is bogged down by the author's message: that we accept those who may look or act differently from ourselves. Rachel's problem is not solved with brains or brawn, but rather with a soupedup appliance. Morality lessons aside, this is a light story fit for young sci/fi fans.Alison Grant, West Bloomfield Township Public Library, MICopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.