Ages 6-9 years Old ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 1-4

One morning during breakfast, a boy named Richard witnesses a tiny alien emerge from his cereal box. This sets the scene for a quest to save Earth from undercover aliens -- and only Richard can help! I read this book many years ago in elementary school and thought it was hilarious, so I was happy to revisit and review it for this course. Truth be told, it was not quite what I remembered, and I felt a bit disappointed for reasons I can't quite explain.

Overall, it is still a fun, fast read, and a good book for a young reader transitioning to chapter books. The simple illustrations complement the text -- another helpful feature for newly independent chapter book readers. ( )

Richard Bickerstaff is a normal school age boy living a normal life until he finds a small alien named Aric in his cereal bowl. Aric claims that he is Commander of the Interspace Brigade and he is there to save Earth from the Dranes. The Dranes seek to control planets they like through a sort of mind control. Suddenly, Richard realizes that the new popular kid in class, Dorf, is a Drane! Aric goes with Richard to school in the hopes of remembering the secret weapon to destroy the Dranes. He eventually remembers that they cannot resist pepper flakes and explode after eating too many. If they do not find a way to get Dorf to eat a lot, he will multiply and Earth will be doomed. Richard and Aric eventually succeed and Dorf explodes leaving no memory that he ever existed among his classmates.

This is another book from my childhood and I really remember loving it then. In fact, the pages are kind of falling out! As an adult, my tastes have changed so I am less excited about it. It’s a really neat book, though. It has humor, every day kid problems, and fantasy. What I really liked was how the story seemed to be about the little guy making a big difference. It is a chapter book but the chapters are short. It’s perfect for children just beginning chapter books.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. Have the class make their own aliens. They can use all sorts of supplies and materials. A really fun thing to do is to have them collect different “garbage” items to make their aliens. For example, they can use tin cans, cereal boxes, etc. Let them name and write a small biography for their alien. You can even line them up on the perimeter of the room and let the class wander around and look at everyone’s aliens.
2. Give the children a cereal box covered in blank paper. Ask them to invent their own cereal. Have them design the box and write a short commercial for them. They can present their commercials to the class. If you have access to a video camera, it might be neat to film all of the commercials. ( )

Aliens for breakfast was a great book. I would recommend it to students who I knew liked alien type stories. I love that this is a series! There is Aliens for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.