Sylvia Waugh (1935–2022)

From the outside, 5 Brocklehurst Grove looks like an ordinary house - the windows are always clean, and the garden well tended. And from the inside, to hear the voices of the inhabitants, the Mennym family, you would think they were a perfectly ordinary family, too. But you'd be wrong, for the Mennyms are far from ordinary. The whole family shares an astonishing secret behind which it's hidden for forty years; a secret to which nobody has ever come close - until perhaps, now. When a letter arrives from Australia, the whole family is plunged into fear that now, for the first time, their secret is about to be exposed . . .… (more)

Summary: The story of a young girl named Nesta who has always been a little skeptical of her parents' behaviors. Come to find out, her parents aren't really from Boston, but they are aliens from outer space. One day, their friend Thomas from the planet Ormingant comes to Earth and notify Nesta's parents it is their last chance to return to space if they so choose and Nesta has a difficult time because she wants to stay on Earth.

Personal reflection: I thought this book was fun to read because you are constantly guessing if Nesta's parents are going to stay on Earth or go to space.

Class use: read aloud and ask the students what they would do if they were in Nesta's shoes. Stay on earth or go to outer space? Also, create a character map for Nesta and her human qualities and alien qualities. How do they combine to create Nesta's personality?… (more)