Henri and the Alien
Lookman
Pen Press Publishing
ISBN 13: 978-1-906710-07-1
160 pages
Contact info@lookman.co.uk for release date!

The book Henri and the Alien by Lookman has all the necessary ingredients to capture and hold the attention of children who have hungry imaginations and a thirst for adventure.  As an adult, I, too, found myself captivated by the “out of this world” plot with its varied, colorful characters.  The storyline is centered around Henrietta, a red-headed young girl who is referred to as “Henri.”  Raised by Humphrey and Ada Fitzgrumpy for nearly eleven years, she had no idea that they weren’t her real parents but thought them rather strange.  Outwardly, they appeared to be a nice couple, totally absorbed with one another; however, they treated Henri as a servant instead of a daughter.  She did the housework, mowed her dad’s lawns, and cooked delicious meals while obediently eating her porridge-like and tasteless food alone.  Yes, her parents were there but not there for her!  When she sat on a staircase at home, overhearing Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgrumpy admit that they had found her in an old coat on their doorstep ten years earlier, Henri was very sad. A note in the coat pocket had said that whoever looked after the baby would receive a reward. But, even though Henri was a dutiful daughter, her parents had grown tired of her—especially Mrs. Fitzgrumpy.  She told her husband it was time to call Social Services and give the foundling away.  

This broke Henri’s heart, and she began to cry out loud, making boohooing sounds over and over.  This sets the scene for the unraveling of an exciting mystery in which Henri befriends Eanie Meanie, a green alien with tentacles. She originally refers to him as “hideous” looking.   With his help, Henri learns that the old coat from ten years earlier has magical powers.  But it takes time for her to discover the full power of this coat and why and where it originated. When the coat takes her to Hitherworld, she meets Geegle, a small wizen man who is dressed in a green tunic and plays a “bewitching” violin.  The man is a trickster—something that Henri learns firsthand when he frames her for killing a king’s cat. She is put on trial and hung for this crime!  But she can’t be dead because she has to go to Netherworld to find her real parents.  She learns more about this when she and Geegle visit the alien’s spacecraft where SNOT, the computer, gives them valuable information to assist them with their quest. After Eanie Meanie disguises himself as a boy called Arthur with Geegle inside him, they begin looking for an entranceway to Netherworld at the school which Henri attends.  

Does Henri find her real parents and overcome the evil power of the Black Cardinal who is responsible for her parent’s captivity and a grey, colorless Netherworld?  What trials and hardships must she and her friends endure?  

There are indescribable twists and turns in this story that will keep readers asking, “What’s next?”  Just when I thought I had anticipated every possible scenario, I would be proven wrong by the author’s skillful ability to spin this mystical tale into a new, exciting, and sometimes humorous direction. His creative ability is apparent in this well-written book that is guaranteed to keep young eyes glued to the pages.   I recommend Henri and the Alien as a “must read” for children who wish to share the trip to Netherworld with Henri, her classmates, Eanie Meanie, and Geegle. After reading this book from the beginning to the end, they will eagerly be awaiting the sequel.

Bettie Corbin Tucker
For IP Book Reviewers
July 11, 2008