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Weird Planet #5
Lights Camera...Liftoff!
KLATU, LEK, AND PLOO just missed their ride home to planet Loogl. The army men from Area 51 scared their spaceship away. So where can they find a place to land a spaceship without causing havoc? Hollywood, of course, on the stage set of a film crew! But when they get there, the three kids are roped into being extras on a new sci-fi TV show. Have Lek, Klatu, and Ploo finally hit the big time? Break out the shades - they've gone from seeing stars . . . to being stars!
- GenresChildrens
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Dan Greenburg
163 books75 followersDAN GREENBURG BIO
BOOKS:
Dan's 73 books have been published in 24 countries.
His adult best-sellers include EXES, LOVE KILLS, HOW TO BE A JEWISH MOTHER, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE, and HOW TO AVOID LOVE AND MARRIAGE. How to be a Jewish Mother sold several million copies. It and How to Make Yourself Miserable were in print for 30 years and were on Publishers Weekly’s list of all-time bestsellers.
Amazon will publish Dan’s third psychological thriller, FEAR ITSELF, in January 2014. They’ll also republish his first two thrillers, EXES and LOVE KILLS.
He’s written four series of children's books: THE ZACK FILES, SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, WEIRD PLANET, and MAXIMUM BOY. The Zack Files sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into 20 languages, and generated an Emmy-winning 52-episode TV series that ran on Showtime and Fox Family.
ADVENTURES:
Dan has written extensively about his adventures:
Riding with NYPD homicide detectives for two years to research thrillers FEAR ITSELF, EXES, and LOVE KILLS.
Interviewing murderers alone in their maximum security prison cells for FEAR ITSELF.
Attending autopsies in the NYC morgue for EXES.
Learning how to discipline tigers and lions on a Texas tiger ranch.
Swimming with 80,000 lb. humpback whales in the deep ocean.
Flying upside down with a stunt pilot in an open-cockpit biplane.
Participating in dangerous voodoo rites in Haiti.
Riding with NYC firemen for four months and following them into burning buildings.
Searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
Assisting exorcists in a Connecticut house attacked by poltergeists.
Acting a major character role in a Western movie filmed in Spain.
Doing stand-up comedy at the New York Improv, and on TV talk shows.
Getting screamed at by Orson Welles on the set of Catch-22 in Mexico.
MAGAZINES:
Dan’s articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Time, Life, Newsweek, Ms., Playboy, and have been reprinted in 44 humor anthologies in the U.S. and England.
MOVIES AND TV:
Dan has had six of his feature films produced, two of which are on Variety’s list of top grossing films.
THEATER:
Along with Jules Feiffer, John Lennon and Samuel Beckett, Dan was a contributor to Oh! Calcutta!, which ran on Broadway for 21 years. He was also a contributor to Free to be You and Me, which ran off and on Broadway for years.
MISC.:
Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Larry King Live, and Late Night with David Letterman. He grew up in Chicago, got his BFA from the University of Illinois, and his MFA from UCLA. He lives in Westchester, NY and British Columbia with his author wife Judith Greenburg and many cats.
dan@dangreenburg.com
BOOKS:
Dan's 73 books have been published in 24 countries.
His adult best-sellers include EXES, LOVE KILLS, HOW TO BE A JEWISH MOTHER, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE, and HOW TO AVOID LOVE AND MARRIAGE. How to be a Jewish Mother sold several million copies. It and How to Make Yourself Miserable were in print for 30 years and were on Publishers Weekly’s list of all-time bestsellers.
Amazon will publish Dan’s third psychological thriller, FEAR ITSELF, in January 2014. They’ll also republish his first two thrillers, EXES and LOVE KILLS.
He’s written four series of children's books: THE ZACK FILES, SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, WEIRD PLANET, and MAXIMUM BOY. The Zack Files sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into 20 languages, and generated an Emmy-winning 52-episode TV series that ran on Showtime and Fox Family.
ADVENTURES:
Dan has written extensively about his adventures:
Riding with NYPD homicide detectives for two years to research thrillers FEAR ITSELF, EXES, and LOVE KILLS.
Interviewing murderers alone in their maximum security prison cells for FEAR ITSELF.
Attending autopsies in the NYC morgue for EXES.
Learning how to discipline tigers and lions on a Texas tiger ranch.
Swimming with 80,000 lb. humpback whales in the deep ocean.
Flying upside down with a stunt pilot in an open-cockpit biplane.
Participating in dangerous voodoo rites in Haiti.
Riding with NYC firemen for four months and following them into burning buildings.
Searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
Assisting exorcists in a Connecticut house attacked by poltergeists.
Acting a major character role in a Western movie filmed in Spain.
Doing stand-up comedy at the New York Improv, and on TV talk shows.
Getting screamed at by Orson Welles on the set of Catch-22 in Mexico.
MAGAZINES:
Dan’s articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Time, Life, Newsweek, Ms., Playboy, and have been reprinted in 44 humor anthologies in the U.S. and England.
MOVIES AND TV:
Dan has had six of his feature films produced, two of which are on Variety’s list of top grossing films.
THEATER:
Along with Jules Feiffer, John Lennon and Samuel Beckett, Dan was a contributor to Oh! Calcutta!, which ran on Broadway for 21 years. He was also a contributor to Free to be You and Me, which ran off and on Broadway for years.
MISC.:
Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Larry King Live, and Late Night with David Letterman. He grew up in Chicago, got his BFA from the University of Illinois, and his MFA from UCLA. He lives in Westchester, NY and British Columbia with his author wife Judith Greenburg and many cats.
dan@dangreenburg.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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December 5, 2015Title: “Lights, Camera…Liftoff”
Author: Dan Greenburg
Illustrator: Macky Pamintuan
Genre: Science Fiction
Theme(s): Fiction, Science Fiction, Television, Humor, Extraterrestrials, Siblings, Hollywood
Opening line/sentence: “Ploo, you’re my best nonhuman girlfriend, said Lilly.”
Brief Book Summary: Klatu, Lek, and Ploo are from the planet Loogl, and are visiting earth when they realize they missed their ride home. They then must find out how to be picked up without causing mayhem. They realize that if the ship lands in Hollywood, people will think it is part of a TV show or movie. However, when they get there they are cast as extras in a science fiction TV show. Will they make it home, or will they stay on earth and be stars?
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
(Random House Children's Books) 2007. LE ISBN 978-0-375-94336-2 PE ISBN 978-0-375-84336-5
(4) Dan Greenburg, Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan. Weird Planet series. Alien kids Ploo, Lek, and Klatu are stranded on Earth. Luckily, their adventures take them to Las Vegas (Elvises) and Hollywood (Lights) where, despite their unusual appearances and mangled language skills, they almost blend in. While the intended audience may miss some of the humor, kids who love Greenburg's other early chapter books will find much to enjoy.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Denise Daley (Children's Literature)
Lily is a young girl with three alien friends. Ploo, Klatu, and Lek are from the planet Loogl and arrived on earth through a Gamma Wormhole that will be closing shortly. The aliens desperately miss their family so Lily and her adult friend Jo-Jo try to arrange for a Loogling spaceship to return to earth and take the aliens back home. After national security foils the spaceship s attempt to land in the Nevada desert, Jo-Jo contacts her producer friend in Hollywood. The producer agrees to allow the spaceship to land near the studio. He can work it into the script of his hit TV show Space Kids in La-La Land. As Lily and her friends tour the show s set, most people think the aliens are actors in costume for the show. A young starlet, however, suspects the truth and her accusations could prevent the Looglings from successfully departing. Some young readers may not be familiar with this book s references to Elvis invasions and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it is still a fun, fast paced story. Several black-and-white illustrations are interspersed throughout the book.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I definitely agree that many young readers would miss some of the humor throughout the book, but I do still think that they would enjoy the book overall. It is very fast paced, and an easy read. The book is funny, clever, and very interesting, especially for a young child.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This book is part of the stepping stone series that children can progress through as they progress themselves as readers. The book is pretty small in size making it an easy hold for a youngster, and the story itself is only 89 pages. The font in the book is very large, so it is a very quick read for an adult, and would be read relatively fast by a youngster as well. The book also contain black and white illustrations on about every third page, which always makes books more approachable for young readers. The illustrations by Pamintuan are very nicely done, and even though they are black and white, they still add a lot of information beyond the text.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This is a book that I would definitely use in the classroom, and is suited for the 3rd-5th grade. I would definitely use this book when science fiction because I think the children would love it. There are many different things one could do with this book, but one that I could see myself doing would be to have the class split into groups and write their own script based off the book. In the script the children would pretend they were the aliens and any other character from the book and create their own plot, setting, narrator, etc. This would hit on writing standards and art standards because of the acting. The reason I would do this is because it a much more fun way for the children to learn about setting, plot, etc.
Author: Dan Greenburg
Illustrator: Macky Pamintuan
Genre: Science Fiction
Theme(s): Fiction, Science Fiction, Television, Humor, Extraterrestrials, Siblings, Hollywood
Opening line/sentence: “Ploo, you’re my best nonhuman girlfriend, said Lilly.”
Brief Book Summary: Klatu, Lek, and Ploo are from the planet Loogl, and are visiting earth when they realize they missed their ride home. They then must find out how to be picked up without causing mayhem. They realize that if the ship lands in Hollywood, people will think it is part of a TV show or movie. However, when they get there they are cast as extras in a science fiction TV show. Will they make it home, or will they stay on earth and be stars?
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
(Random House Children's Books) 2007. LE ISBN 978-0-375-94336-2 PE ISBN 978-0-375-84336-5
(4) Dan Greenburg, Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan. Weird Planet series. Alien kids Ploo, Lek, and Klatu are stranded on Earth. Luckily, their adventures take them to Las Vegas (Elvises) and Hollywood (Lights) where, despite their unusual appearances and mangled language skills, they almost blend in. While the intended audience may miss some of the humor, kids who love Greenburg's other early chapter books will find much to enjoy.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Denise Daley (Children's Literature)
Lily is a young girl with three alien friends. Ploo, Klatu, and Lek are from the planet Loogl and arrived on earth through a Gamma Wormhole that will be closing shortly. The aliens desperately miss their family so Lily and her adult friend Jo-Jo try to arrange for a Loogling spaceship to return to earth and take the aliens back home. After national security foils the spaceship s attempt to land in the Nevada desert, Jo-Jo contacts her producer friend in Hollywood. The producer agrees to allow the spaceship to land near the studio. He can work it into the script of his hit TV show Space Kids in La-La Land. As Lily and her friends tour the show s set, most people think the aliens are actors in costume for the show. A young starlet, however, suspects the truth and her accusations could prevent the Looglings from successfully departing. Some young readers may not be familiar with this book s references to Elvis invasions and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it is still a fun, fast paced story. Several black-and-white illustrations are interspersed throughout the book.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I definitely agree that many young readers would miss some of the humor throughout the book, but I do still think that they would enjoy the book overall. It is very fast paced, and an easy read. The book is funny, clever, and very interesting, especially for a young child.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This book is part of the stepping stone series that children can progress through as they progress themselves as readers. The book is pretty small in size making it an easy hold for a youngster, and the story itself is only 89 pages. The font in the book is very large, so it is a very quick read for an adult, and would be read relatively fast by a youngster as well. The book also contain black and white illustrations on about every third page, which always makes books more approachable for young readers. The illustrations by Pamintuan are very nicely done, and even though they are black and white, they still add a lot of information beyond the text.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This is a book that I would definitely use in the classroom, and is suited for the 3rd-5th grade. I would definitely use this book when science fiction because I think the children would love it. There are many different things one could do with this book, but one that I could see myself doing would be to have the class split into groups and write their own script based off the book. In the script the children would pretend they were the aliens and any other character from the book and create their own plot, setting, narrator, etc. This would hit on writing standards and art standards because of the acting. The reason I would do this is because it a much more fun way for the children to learn about setting, plot, etc.
December 15, 2008
Fun, light science fiction for young readers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews