posted on 02 Jul 2024

The Spaceman by Randy Cecil

In your quieter moments of contemplation, have you ever wondered what the world would look and feel like if you’d never seen it before?

 Imagine you were an intrepid space explorer who had landed on this small, seemingly modest bright blue pebble orbiting an insignificant sun in an outer arm of an equally unremarkable galaxy: would you be impressed or simply think it might be time to move on to find something more dramatic?

Well, that’s the premise behind Randy Cecil’s The Spaceman, an explorer who touches down on Earth as part of his scientific mission to collect samples of soil and catalogue what he finds. But there’s something I haven’t told you yet – this spaceman and his spaceship are really tiny (and I mean really tiny).

The spaceman finds himself enchanted by the beautiful flowers that tower over him and, as he starts to think that maybe this is a special kind of world, a black bird swoops down and carries off his spaceship. What should he do? He has no choice but chase after it if he’s ever going to leave again.

The little alien encounters a friendly dog – ‘a hideous beast’ – that makes him flee in terror but although he’s lost and alone, a flight with a butterfly convinces him that this is an extraordinary and beautiful world. He re-encounters the soppy old dog that had originally scared him so much when the hound drags him from a pond he’s dropped into and the two become firm friends.

When he spots his spaceship in the branches of a nearby trip, the spaceman is confronted with a decision to make: should he do his duty and continue on his way to other worlds or should he stay here on this extraordinary planet so full of friendship and beauty?

What would you do?

To find out what decision the spaceman makes, why not get a copy to read with your youngsters and make your own once you’ve had chance to talk about it. The book is simply but lavishly illustrated by the author and you’ll enjoy following the journey of the bewildered spaceman.

 Available from Walker Books, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order you a copy if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

July 2024