Aliens in the Roswell Museum, opens a new window by Jim Trottier, opens a new window / CC BY-SA 2.0, opens a new window / Cropped from original
Imagine taking a stroll through your ranch: smell the fresh country air, listen to grass rustling in the wind, and stare at the metallic debris of an alien craft… Alien craft? In July of 1947, Rancher W.W. Brazel came upon just that.
Brazel found strange debris of rubber, tinfoil, and paper on his ranch about 75 miles from Roswell, New Mexico. He took some of the material to Roswell Sheriff George Wilcox. Wilcox then contacted the Roswell Army Air Field about it. The next day, July 8, a press release was issued saying that the army had recovered debris of a flying disc.
The day after, the military retracted its statement, and they said that the debris truly came from a weather balloon.
Many feel that the sudden change in story was a cover up: supposed government employees and witnesses claim that alien bodies had been recovered near the crash site and taken away. These rumors of extraterrestrials have persisted to this day.
75 years have passed since the incident, and despite inconsistencies in many of the stories, many believe that Roswell is evidence of the existences of UFOs and aliens. Roswell has since embraced the legend and has become a site for tourism with claims that UFOs can still be seen around the area. In honor of this 75 year mix of truth and legend I give you these 5 alien books that will get you into the spirit of celebrating this interstellar milestone.
5 Awesome Alien Books
Alien Abductions investigates the alien abduction phenomena. The book shares stories of alien encounters, tales of famous abductions, and it even ties into Roswell. The book balances belief and skepticism, painting an honest and eerie picture of abductions. Ages 7 and up.
It’s movie date night for mom and dad, and a boy and his sister are left with an otherworldly babysitter in The Babysitter From Another Planet. The sitter is a Mary Poppins influenced alien who uses eyebeams to set the dinner table and cook, helps the kids with homework by making solid shapes from light, and reads a bedtime story using telekinesis. Ages 4 and up.
Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth is the first entry of the Hilo series. In the first book, D. J.’s closest friend Gina has moved away, and he’s missing her. D.J.’s loneliness is short lived when a strange and quirky boy named Hilo crashes to earth with no memory of who he is. Soon, Gina returns and the three become quite the team. As time passes, Hilo slowly regains his memories, and he realizes there is an alien threat coming. Ages 7 and up.
Klawde: In this catastic pun filled book, Lord High Emperor Wyss-Kuzz of the planet Lyttyrboks is exiled and teleported to Earth after his subjects rebel against him. On arrival, Klawde needs shelter from the rain and is found and adopted by a kindred spirit, Raj, an ogre, who feels exiled from New York because he and his family have moved to Oregon. Their tail is unfolds in chapters alternating between Klawde and Raj’s perspectives. Ages 8 and up.
Jake is like any other 12 year old trying to make their way through middle school and not be the Weird Kid. The problem: he is a shape-shifting blob of goo that fell to earth, and now he’s trying to maintain his human form and cover.
Jake becomes friends with Agnes, whom bonds with him over their shared love of Night Kite comics. Together, they must save the town from the “imblobsters,” goo like him that are replacing the townspeople. Ages 8 and up.