FICTION

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

by Melissa MATHISON
adapted by Jim Thomas. illus. by Kim Smith. 40p. Quirk. Oct. 2017. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781683690108.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1–3— This uninspired adaptation of the beloved 1982 film reads like too many books that are based on a movie—all plot and no heart. The main events are all here: the boy hero Elliott finds an alien in his shed, which he lures out with candy; only the children know about the new addition to the family, E.T. the extraterrestrial; government bad guys are after E.T.; and the children are devastated when the creature must go home. The book is certainly faithful to the movie and its computer-generated images are perfectly fine, but it has none of the hilarity, magic, and heartbreak that the movie's writer, Mathison, and its director, Steven Spielberg, brought to the big screen.
VERDICT Not a worthwhile purchase.
Reviewed by Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore
Elliott and siblings hide their new extraterrestrial friend until he can find a way home([cf2]E.T.[cf1]). A young Dana Scully and scaredy-cat friend Fox Mulder encounter aliens while backyard camping ([cf2]X-Files[cf1]). Nostalgic parents will most enjoy these bland pop-culture picture books, a retelling of the classic eighties film and a takeoff on characters from the nineties sci-fi show. Smith's slick art cartoonishly depicts the iconic characters.
 , Jun 01, 2018

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