Dude, Where's My Spaceship?

Dude, Where's My Spaceship?
by Dan Greenburg
Recommended Ages: 8+

In this thin, goofy and charmingly illustrated book, we meet alien siblings Klatu, Lek and Ploo, joyriding around the galaxy in their little spaceship just after Klatu (the eldest) earned his flying license. Unfortunately, Klatu is a varna, which is alien for a klutz, and they end up crashed in the Nevada desert, not far from Area 51. Worse, Ploo gets caught by some army guys, and even using her ESP abilities she's unable to persuade them to let her go. So Klatu and Lek must follow, chewing English language gum and transforming their big-eyed, big-headed, gray alien bodies into the look of children from a bygone era (because their school books on Earth are out of date). And despite not knowing that the cardboard box isn't an edible part of the pizza, they rely on a purloined pizza delivery as their ruse to get into the top secret government installation.

Ploo, meanwhile, has befriended a nice little girl whose father, Major Paine, is determined to save Earth from the alien threat. Ploo's escape depends on the bumbling boys and her own social skills, but that's only the start of their adventure because now, they have to find a mechanic – an earthling mind you – who can fix their banged-up flying saucer. Good luck!

This book, whose title is inspired by the 2000 comedy film Dude, Where's My Car? (and I'm sighing to think I have to explain this), is the first of six installments in the Weird Planet series, which continues in Lost in Las Vegas, Chilling with the Great Ones, Attack of the Evil Elvises, Lights Camera ... Liftoff! and Thrills, Spills, and Cosmic Chills. The edition I read was illustrated by Macky Pemintuan. Dan Greenburg, an author I'd never heard of before I laid eyes on this book, is a surprisingly prolific fellow, credited with the Max Segal trilogy (Love Kills etc.), 30 "Zack Files" books (A Ghost Named Wanda among them), eight "Maximum Boys" books (How I Became a Superhero etc.), eight "Secrets of Dripping Fang" books (including Please Don't Eat the Children), and about a dozen other novels including Green Eggs and Dinosaurs. He doesn't seem to have put out any new books since about the mid-2010s, but he has a big catalog going back to about 1968, so if Ploo and her brothers amuse you, you'll have your used book shopping cut out for you.