Whose? Your Alien by Tammi Sauer

YOU WILL LOOK OUT OF YOUR WINDOW WHEN SOMETHING WONDERFUL COMES YOUR WAY!

A boy's glance out his window reveals a streaking UFO coming to rest right outside. Luckily, what emerges is not a ravenous reptilian raptor of an alien, but a cute little critter that most kids would find cuddly.

The two--boy and space visitor--strike up a warm friendship, and of course the kid opens the customary "can I keep him" negotiation with his parents.

YOU'LL HAVE TO BREAK THE NEWS TO YOUR PARENTS!

Fortunately, the boy's folks seem not quite to guess what they're really seeing, so the alien trails the kid to school. The kids in the class think he's totally awesome, and the teacher is not sure exactly WHAT he is.

SHE'LL THINK SHE NEEDS NEW GLASSES.

The boy has a blast with his new friend, who showers in the water fountain and snacks on foam rubber from the upholstery. It's quite a day with his new playmate, but as it gets dark outside, the observant boy notices that his alien friend is looking a bit pensive and not a little sad. He stares out the window as if expecting something from the stars. Even a hug doesn't quite shake away the bedtime blues. Could he be homesick for his own house and family?

YOU WILL TURN ON EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE.

YOU'LL ADD A FEW EXTRAS HERE AND THERE!

With every window in the house ablaze and the yard bright with Christmas lights, the home becomes a lighthouse for space aliens looking for their missing family member. And soon a bright spotlight from a hovering spacecraft shines down on the scene.

MEEP! OOG!

SOON YOU AND YOUR ALIEN WILL WAVE GOODBYE.

It's a bittersweet but fond farewell to a close encounter of the alien kind, in Tammi Sauer's latest, Your Alien (Sterling Books, 2015). Goro Fujito's cuddly, tot-sized alien gives this story a gentle mood which celebrates a connection between two very different friends who yet share the warm fondness of their own families. With multiple starred reviews from the critics, this sweet tale lights up the sky, which (the author hints) may yet yield new surprises.

AND YOU WILL BE LOOKING OUT OUR WINDOW WHEN SOMETHING WONDERFUL COMES YOUR WAY!

"Not since E.T. has extraterrestrial entertainment stood such a good chance of making kids (and their parents) tear up," says Publishers Weekly.