Pamela Service’s Stinker From Space manages to accomplish a challenging feat: it creates an engaging, accessible science fiction story for elementary school readers. Oftentimes, science fiction tends to get bogged down in complicated quantum mechanics and dark, adult themes; however, Service’s book manages to avoid such pitfalls of “maturity” through its sense of wonder and humor. Although it doesn’t carry the same sophistication or timelessness of A Wrinkle in Time, Service’s Stinker From Space is a delightful “gateway story” for young readers delving into science fiction for the first time.

Stinker From Space tells the story of interstellar pilot Tsynq Yr, an alien who crash-lands on earth and winds up in the body of… a skunk. While the premise might seem a bit silly for older readers, the book actually creates a narrative that is not far removed from Steven Spielberg’s classic E.T.: young children help a stranded alien to find his way back home while trying to keep their mission a secret. However, while E.T. has dark and terrifying moments (including government abductions and dissections), Stinker From Space is relatively lighthearted and sweet; when the “bad guys” do appear in the story, they are not very frightening (resembling a blob with bamboo sticks for legs), and they are easily defeated. Another “inside joke” that children will enjoy is the book’s decision to cast adults as unwitting and blissfully ignorant, while the book’s children are the real “brains” of the story. Obviously, this will appeal to young readers, who will delight in the exploits of the book’s clever, heroic children, Karen and Jonathan.

Despite its short length (just under one hundred pages), Stinker From Space creates a narrative that is endearing and entertaining. In Service’s story, children live in a world where aliens are as cute and cuddly as a woodland creature… albeit a stinky one. For emerging readers who are fascinated by outer space but frightened by scary aliens, Stinker From Space is a perfectly non-threatening book.

Citation:
Service, Pamela F. Stinker From Space. New York: Scribner's, 1988. Print. ( )

Very cute. I'm glad there's a sequel and I'll have to find it - this story is quite firmly ended but there's gotta be major aftershocks. The kids' story is completely unbelievable, of course - but the shuttle is gone. Hmmm. Plus the adults saw the enemy. Problem with that is, the scout signaled to a raiding party - when they don't come back, who will come instead? Yeah, a lot of questions left unanswered. Fun story, though. ( )