Synopses & Reviews
A picture-book account of one of the most famous pieces of radio history!* “Sandwiched between a look at Depression-era radios and a set of fanciful period advertisements, McCarthy delivers a semi-serious account of the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, illustrating both passages from the script and briefly told descriptions of widespread panic with smudgy cartoon scenes featuring bug-eyed monsters and equally bug-eyed people. The author closes with a substantial note that analyzes the broadcast immediate and long-term effects, points out that the announcers repeatedly admitted that they were presenting a drama during the broadcast, mentions several later revivals here and internationally and notes the response of H.G. Wells himself to the original production. She has also set up an invitingly designed Web site with an array of relevant links.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
An ALA-ALSC Notable Childrens Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
An IRA-CBC Childrens Choice
A Kirkus Reviews Editors Choice
A 2006 New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Synopsis
It was an ordinary night in October of 1938 until a news bulletin interrupted the dance music on CBS radio-aliens were invading the United States
Meghan McCarthy's hilarious Aliens Are Coming tells the true story of the Halloween radio prank that duped much of the country into believing that Martians had invaded. The book uses excerpts from the actual War of the Worlds radio broadcast and includes information about the importance of radios in the 1930s (before the time of televisions and computers) as well as facts about Orson Welles and H. G. Wells, author of the novel on which the broadcast was based.
Synopsis
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About the Author
Meghan McCarthy is the author-illustrator of Astronaut Handbook and Strong Man, which received three starred reviews and was selected as a Society of Illustrators best illustrated book. She resides in Brooklyn, New York.