Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell by Candace Fleming

Crash from Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell

By Candace Fleming

Scholastic Focus. An Imprint of Scholastic, Inc. 2022

Did an alien space craft really crash in Roswell, New Mexico on a hot, stormy night on June13, 1947? Some claim they saw alien bodies strewn across the ground. Readers are asked to put on their thinking caps as award-winning author, Candace Fleming investigates whether the crash actually happened or whether the US government has been covering up evidence in a massive conspiracy. 

We meet a cast of interesting characters as Fleming examines all the evidence presented. 

Was the crash real?

Can we trust eyewitness accounts?

Was it Russian spies, secret military technology that crashed in the New Mexican desert that night?

Has the United States government been covering up the evidence all these years?

You must read this thrilling exploration, loaded with photos and illustrations, about one of the most electrifying mysteries in modern history. 

What really happened in Roswell, New Mexico on June 13, 1947.

Well-researched, the book includes an author's note, bibliography of primary and secondary sources, source notes, photo and illustration credits. 

Hanged! Mary Surratt & the Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln by Sarah Miller

Hanged! Mary Surratt & the Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln

Sarah Miller

Random House Studio. 2022

In her latest title, accomplished nonfiction author, Sarah Miller (The Borden Murders, The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets, Violet & Daisy) investigates a question that is still debated over 150 years later: Did Mary Surratt commit treason by aiding and abetting John Wilkes Booth in his conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, or, was Mary a mere victim of coincidence? 

Mary Surratt owned a boardinghouse in downtown Washington, D.C. The boardinghouse was one of the locations where John Wilkes Booth and his allies, including Mary's own son, are known to have met to discuss Lincoln's assassination.  Using primary and secondary sources, this thought-provoking narrative is a real page-turner.  

The author includes lots of black & white historical photographs, an epilogue, author's note, bibliography on her sources, and several pages of sources for quotes.

Hand this to history buffs, homeschooling families studying the Civil War, those who love a good mystery, and anyone, from kids to adults, who just want a really good book to read. I must admit, from the moment I started reading I could not put the book down.

Alien Invasion by Kelly Milner Halls

Alien Investigations: searching for the truth about UFO’s and aliens

By Kelly Milner Halls

Millbrook Press. 2012

ISBN: 9789761362043

Grades 5 and up

This reviewer received a copy of the book from the publisher.

Do you believe that aliens, extraterrestrials, have visited Earth? I would not rule out the possibility. Neither would Kelly Milner Halls, author of Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFO’s and Aliens. Halls suggests there is a strong possibility based on first-hand accounts by individuals who swear they saw something in the night sky.

Halls divides the book into four chapters: The Spacecraft, Crashes and Landings, The Aliens, and Hoaxes and Misunderstandings. I found it fascinating just how many UFO sightings there have been since the first one was recorded in 1947. Though most are from the United States, again, I was surprised to learn that there have also been sightings all around the world.

The book’s design will appeal to avid UFO fans, as it uses a combination of drawings, computer generated art, as well as historic black & white and color photographs to show the variety of unexplainable shapes seen by eyewitnesses. Interspersed throughout are interviews with people who have witnessed a UFO sighting, a person who studies the likelihood of life on other planets, and Michael Schratt who, in his spare time is an expert on something called black programs. “Those are top secret projects world governments prefer to keep top secret.”

The book is a combination of fact and a bit of fiction. For example, at the beginning of each chapter, readers are asked to imagine “a team of bold alien explorers as they prepare to leave their home planet” to investigate a distant blue planet. In this made-up scenario, the travelers reach Earth and, instead of being captured by our military, they meet a young earthling “who shares everything in his pockets.” After the positive exchange, the aliens head back to their home planet pleased with their encounter and hopeful for another visit.

Pair this with Gloria Skurzynski’s 2004 title, Are We Alone? : Scientists

Search for Life in Space and Looking for Life in the Universe by Ellen Jackson, a 2002 Scientist in the Field entry.

Have you ever seen a UFO?

In Search of Sasquatch by Kelly Milner Halls

In Search of Sasquatch 
by Kelly Milner Halls
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011
ISBN: 9780547257617
The reviewer received a copy of the book from the publisher.

October is the perfect month to read about mysterious happenings and strange occurrences. The children in my school love to explore the 000 shelf in the nonfiction section. They are usually in search of books about UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot. Kelly Milner Halls, author of Tales of the Cryptids, has written a new book that is sure to satisfy inquiring minds.

In Search of Sasquatch aims to answer the question: Is Bigfoot Real? Milner interviewed numerous experts (anthropologists, biologists, and investigators) and everyday people in search of proof of Sasquatch's existence. Color photographs accompany stories of Bigfoot sightings and ancient artifacts. Young readers will enjoy learning how investigators use plaster to make casts of footprints found in the wild. Another section describes how to set up a Sasquatch field expedition.

After describing eyewitness accounts and outlining the evidence, the author points out a number of hoaxes that were widely publicized in the past. One hoax was pulled off by two men using an expensive ape costume.  In the end, Halls leaves it up to the reader to decide if Bigfoot is real. A map showing Sasquatch sightings is included in the back of the book along with a list of additional resources, and an extensive bibliography. Believers and skeptics alike will enjoy reading this fascinating book about the mystery of Sasquatch.

4 Stars
(Grades 4-8)