How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens

by Paul Noth

Overview

Happy Conklin Jr. is the only 10-year-old who has to shave three times a day. Hap's dad is a brilliant inventor of screwball products, and being a Conklin kid means sometimes being experimented on. So Hap has his beard, and his five sisters each have their own unique—and often problematic—qualities too. And although Hap's dad has made a fortune with his wacky inventions sold via nonstop TV infomercials, all of that money has gone to Hap's tyrannical Grandma. While she lives in an enormous mansion, the rest of the family lives in two rooms in the basement.

All Hap has ever wanted is to have a normal life, so when he sees a chance to get rid of Grandma, he takes it! He only means to swap out Grandma, but when he—oops!—sells his whole family to the aliens, he wants nothing more than to get them back. He just has to figure out . . . how?

This is an out-of-this-world funny first book in a madcap, illustrated adventure series from New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681196572
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	902,791
Product dimensions:	5.63(w) x 8.57(h) x 0.85(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Paul Noth's cartoons have appeared regularly in The New Yorker since 2004. He has created short animated films for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and been an animation consultant for Saturday Night Live.

www.paulnoth.com; @PaulNoth

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2017
Gr 3–5—Happy "Hap" Conklin Jr. is not your average 10-year-old. For one, he has to shave his beard three times a day. His father is the inventor of a ton of wacky gizmos and gadgets, and each of his five sisters are weird in their own right—one of them can see the future. Meanwhile, his mean and maniacal grandmother wants to take over the galaxy. Hap's plan is to get rid of his grandma, but he accidentally winds up selling his entire family to aliens. Strange and original with just the right amount of juvenile humor, this story features odd and endearing characters and a wonderfully weird plot. Hap and his family are a delightful cross between dysfunctional and perfectly loving. VERDICT A fun addition to middle grade collections in need of goofy humor.—Elizabeth Speer, Weatherford College, TX

School Library Journal

2018-02-03
The Conklins are "a family of freaks" thanks to Grandma‘s experiments…can they keep Baby Lu safely on the "normal-kid" end of the spectrum?Ten-year-old Happy Conklin Jr.'s dad is an inventor; most of his designs have flopped, but his "Buns of Abs" made the family millions…all of which Grandma took for herself. She also likes to test the inventions out on her grandchildren. "That's One Handsome Baby" gave Hap Jr. a beard he has to shave daily. "Baby Master" gave Kayla the ability to see possible futures. Beth and Eliza were born fraternal twins, but "Perfect O'Specs" made them identical. And "The Doorganizer" linked light-fingered Alice to a pocket dimension where she stores everything she steals. While protecting their youngest sibling from Grandma's predacious experimentation, Hap Jr. inadvertently sells his entire family to an alien reality show; can he get them back and avoid the FBI with the help of the school pet and his beard? Animator and cartoonist Noth's debut children's book is nowhere near as zany or as much fun as it wants to be. The setup drags, and readers will find the premise that Hap's parents let Grandma do what she does awfully hard to believe. Line drawings and occasional comic strips throughout (final art not seen) depict the family as white and add some zip—but not enough to make this a purchase for any but the most generous of budgets. Sequel likely…unless it gets sold to the aliens too, and that'd be no big loss. (Science fiction. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews

Engaging, original and laugh-out-loud funny . . . I'm so thrilled for everyone, particularly my 500 children, to experience the imagination and brilliance of this world Paul Noth has created. I just hope that I don't get sold to the Aliens myself . . .” —Jim Gaffigan, comedian and bestselling author of DAD IS FAT and FOOD: A LOVE STORY

“Funny, fizzing and forever keeping you on your toes, How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is a rollercoaster of clever cartoon and pacy plot twists, with some aliens and wrestling thrown in for good measure. Totally original and totally unputdownable.” —Mo O'Hara, New York Times bestselling author of the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series

“How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is hilarious and extremely helpful.” —Andy Borowitz, creator of the Borowitz Report

“My favorite New Yorker cartoonist just became my favorite middle reader author—and that was after reading only three pages of his hilarious new book!” —Bob Staake, award-winning author of more than 60 children's books, including The Donut Chef, The Red Lemon, and The Book of Gold

“Strange and original with just the right amount of juvenile humor, this story features odd and endearing characters and a wonderfully weird plot.” —School Library Journal

“Happy's narration is pitch perfect for middle- graders . . . Fans of Allen's Gabby Duran and the Unsittables will find a similar combination of warmth and weirdness here.” —BCCB

“Readers will be likewise amused by the random twists, silly inventions, and frequent spot drawings and sequential panels.” —Booklist

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