Hello, friends! Our book today is The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird, a new story based on the show and characters by Chris Carter, written by Jason Rekulak, and illustrated by Kim Smith.

Little Fox and Dana are having a camp-out in Dana’s backyard, reading through spooky books (appropriately titled “The X-Files” themselves). Fox is a little more than jumpy, especially about the prospect of an alien sneaking up on their tent. Dana assures him that there’s no chance of this… just as a bright light shines over their tent! Fox is sure it’s aliens, but Dana calms him – it’s only the security floodlight. Then what’s that towering, creepy shadow?! Just Buster the dog sniffing out a squirrel. On it goes, with Fox following mysterious sights and sounds into the woods and Dana gently bringing him back down to earth, until Fox admits that maybe he was perhaps overreacting. The pair head back to their tent, not noticing that they weren’t alone in the forest after all…

This was delightful! A non-canon imagining of Mulder and Scully as children that takes the main themes of the show and distills them down to a kid-friendly yet fan-serving story. The plot is packed with humor, clever dialogue and misdirects, and even a mildly creepy twist ending that pays homage to the characters’ roots. Adult X-FILES/sci-fi fans will love details such as Scully’s parents drawn to look like the actors who played them, and a silhouette that closely resembles a xenomorph from the ALIENS series. The art is colorful enough to engage yet maintains a proper spooky atmosphere, and is sure to present the aliens as outerworldly but not scary. The length was great, and JJ and I loved it. A treat for fans to share with their little ones, and a fun, creepy tale all around. Baby Bookworm approved!