The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird: A Picture Book

by Kim Smith (Illustrator)

Overview

One the most beloved TV shows of all time is now a sweet, silly, sci-fi bedtime story perfect for kids and their parents!

Best pals Dana (Scully) and Fox (Mulder) have pitched a tent in the backyard for a sleepover. But the night is full of strange sounds, lights, and shadows. Surely there’s a rational, scientific explanation for everything . . . or is there? With beautiful illustrations of pint-sized Dana and Fox, this humorous and not-scary-at-all story will introduce the cult TV show to an entire new generation of fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594749797
Publisher:	Quirk Publishing
Publication date:	08/15/2017
Series:	Pop Classics , #2
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	432,446
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kim Smith is the illustrator behind the Quirk Books Pop Classics series, including Home Alone, Home Alone 2, The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Karate Kid, and Doctor Who: The Runaway TARDIS. She has illustrated several other children’s books, including The Great Puppy Invasion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), Builder Brothers: Big Plans (HarperCollins, 2018), and Boxitects (Clarion Books, 2020), her author/illustrator debut. Kim lives in Calgary, Alberta with her dog, Whisky, and husband, Eric. Visit her online at kimillustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/29/2017
If Muppet Babies is making a comeback, why not Mulder and Scully rebooted as kids? In this picture book riff on The X-Files, Fox and Dana are best buddies having a backyard campout, fulfilling the same roles they did in the cult TV series: Fox thinks aliens are everywhere, and Dana’s quick to debunk (a “terrifying shadow” is actually the family dog, etc.). Smith, who previously adapted Home Alone into a picture book, gives her pictures the energy and framings of TV animation, and she believably evokes actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as children, particularly where their characters’ distinctive hairstyle are concerned. In Fox’s defense, aliens do turn up—sharp readers will note the UFO hovering in the sky on the book’s title spread. But adult X-Files fans hoping to get their offspring hooked may be disappointed: the dialogue is standard issue, and the big closing twist is little more than the narrative equivalent of “Boo!” If there is indeed a version of The X-Files for kids that captures the spirit of the show, it’s still out there. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

[The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird is] a fun take on the duo’s love for exploring the unknown.”—CNET

“If you love The X-Files, you’ll have a blast with this humorous story featuring pint-sized Dana and Fox.”—Screen Rant

“The perfect spooky-ish read.”—Red Tricycle

“Kids will delight in the spooky-but goofy story and the surprise at the end, and parents will chuckle at this new take on an old favorite.”—GeekDad

“Will entertain both parents and kids alike.”—Connecticut Parent

“The perfect spooky-ish read…just might make you think twice about turning off the lights.”—Tinybeans

“With beautiful illustrations of pint-sized Dana and Fox, this humorous and not scary-at-all story will introduce the TV show to an entire new generation of fans.”—Story Monsters Ink

Praise for other books in the Pop Classics series:
“Thanks to the delightful illustrations of Kim Smith, families can bond over the lovable alien and his friendship with Elliot in book form.”—Jami Ganz, Entertainment Weekly, on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

“I was quickly won over by the charm of the writing and the awesome illustrations. Kim Smith's drawings have a distinctive style that imbues life into every single page.”—Sweety High, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 
“A lovely trip down memory lane that you can share with your little ones.”—Neatorama, on Back to the Future
 
“Smith’s art is excellent. . . . Her illustrations do a terrific job summing up the key moments of the movie, creating a rich picture of what happens in the film in only 40 pages.”—Comics Worth Reading, on The Karate Kid
 
“Kids will delight in the spooky-but goofy story and the surprise at the end, and parents will chuckle at this new take on an old favorite.”—GeekDad, on The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird

“Home Alone: The Classic Illustrated Storybook offers all the fun of the original movie in a darling hardcover package whose read-aloud story teaches lessons about responsibility and the importance of family.”—Pop Culture Insider, on Home Alone

From the Publisher

2017-05-10
The truth is out there…but will Dana and Fox find it?Young Dana and Fox are camping out in the backyard. Just as Dana finishes reading from a book called The X-Files, there's a blinding light outside their tent. The kids investigate, but it's only the floodlight. Fox sees a terrifying alien-shaped shadow…but it's just Buster the dog trying to get a squirrel. Giant footprint? Dana explains it's the start of a new swimming pool. A horrifying sound from beyond the fence? The duo investigates the dark woods with Buster and discover it's just an old tire swing and an owl. Dana assures Fox that UFO talk is "crazy" talk, but neither sees the crashed flying saucer in the shadows or the giant, reptilian ET following them down the path. Back at the tent, they unzip the flap and find two tiny green ETs reading their books! The two white, human kids scream and run inside, while the two green extraterrestrial kids scream and run for the woods. Dana and Fox run up the stairs past parents watching TV…but are those really Dana's parents? Rekulak's envisioned sleepover between the two future paranormal investigators is impossible in the mythos of The X-Files, as Mulder and Scully didn't meet until adulthood, a liberty that may well drive the adult fans who are the natural audience for this book up the wall. Smith's digitally created, enticingly spooky cartoon illustrations help to tell the story, the text of which is set entirely in speech bubbles (the ET script is an amusing touch). Kids won't know the characters' back story (front story?) and fans may balk, but the tale, familiar in its broad outlines, may still entertain. Even the branding may not be enough to entice readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews