How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens

by Paul Noth

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

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Childrens, Science Fiction

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2018

Reviews

[Lorelai]

This book is one of the funniest, silliest, most hysterical books I have ever read. It involves the truth of the aliens named Gubbinsins. It has a giant family, many awkward moments, an invincible compact mirror and very very long beard. This book will make you want to read all the books by Paul Noth because he is so funny. It has so much action in it. Just read it!

[Theresa Grissom]

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC copy of this.

This is a fun, quirky fantasy that I think kids in upper elementary will enjoy. I mean, who wouldn't occasionally want to sell their family aliens?

[Bob]

Very good book. Highly recommend. This is by New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth who is usually the funniest one in the issue.

[Maria Noth]

Hilarious! It is a wonderful, funny and clever book for any age...

[Ariel Hess]

Disclaimer: This review is solely my opinion. I was provided a copy of this book from @KidLitExchange #partner in exchange for my honest review. Thanks again to @KidLitExchange #partner for access to review a free copy of this book! The comments in this review do not reflect the views of the author or KidLitExchange. The copy used in this review is an uncorrected copy from Bloomsburg Publishing.

I enjoyed the hint of diversity in this story in Hap Junior’s family. Hap’s mom is from Romania, and all the kids are bilingual. Hap spends the entire book trying to both get rid of his family and protect them at the same time. He has to figure out who he needs to protect them from, his grandmother, the FBI, or the potential alien threat. The book focuses on the importance of family and accepting each other’s differences. Hap is a member of a unique family, and he must learn the importance of family while his siblings learn to accept themselves for who they are.

I thought the author did a great job highlighting the importance of family. Also no matter how annoying your family is, they are your family. I was excited to receive a copy of this book to review and enjoyed reviewing it. I recommend this book to anyone in late elementary and early middle school. It is an easy-to-read and is very captivating. If you are looking for a story that will make you laugh and think of your family, then this is the book for you!

You can view the full review on my blog at

[Savannah Webster]

This was a quirky fun read about 10 year old Happy Conklin Jr, son of a brilliant but slightly crazy inventor Happy Conklin. You find out very early in the story that their Grandma basically has ownership of the family and all the financial wealth from his father’s inventions. She’s forces them to live in the basement and hoards the money, she’s not your typical sweet grandma. She along with the father experiment on the children in the family leaving them with unusual “gifts”. Hap. Jr grows a full size beard every day, his sister’s are identical twins but only because one of the twins uses special glasses, another sister perpetually steals and they have no idea where the stolen goods disappear, and the other sister talks to an invisible bee that helps her foresee the future. They have a baby sister who so far has been safe from experiments but there mom is out of town and she may not be safe for long! Happy Jr’s attempts to keep his baby sis away from grandma go awry. When aliens arrive he is presented with the opportunity to sell his grandma which seems like a good idea until he realizes that selling grandma was a package deal for the rest of the family!! I won’t reveal any more than that!
There are twists and turns throughout the story, lots of quirky humor, and likable weird characters including a lizard, FBI agent, and pro- wrestler.

⭐I think this would be well received by those who love Capt underpants, Diary of a wimpy Kid, and other similar graphic books.

[Valerie McEnroe]

This book is really funny, but gotta say it's just a little too over the top for my tastes. Comparing the work of authors formerly in the journalism industry, I prefer Dave Barry. His middle grade books are funny, yet still grounded in reality.

Here you have Hap Conklin, Jr. His grandmother is a narcissistic loon. She comes up with crazy invention ideas and his dad, Hap Conklin, Sr. makes them a reality. She doesn't like children, even her own grandchildren, and uses them to test out the inventions. As a result, all of his siblings have an abnormality. Hap has had a beard since he was baby. Alice can steal anything without getting caught. Kayla talks to a bee and can predict the future. Beth looks exactly like her twin even though they are fraternal twins. Only baby Lu hasn't been affected yet and Hap is determined to make sure it stays that way. When a trio of aliens offer to buy his grandmother for a week for 1 million dollars, Hap eagerly accepts the offer, not realizing his entire family is included in the deal. Hap soon regrets his decision and goes through quite an ordeal to get his family back.

There is so much going on in this book that it's hard to keep it all straight. Hap jumps from one absurdity to another. It wasn't a relaxing read for me.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*]

How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens by Paul Noth, 212 pages. Bloomsbury, 2018. $14.

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Happy Conklin Jr. lives with his parents and five sisters in the basement of his grandmother’s mansion. She comes up with bizarre ideas, his father invents them, then she tests them out on her grandchildren. It’s the reason Hap’s had a beard since he was a baby. Now his grandmother wants to do the same with baby Lu, but Hap won’t have it. When he accidentally runs into some aliens who offer to buy his grandmother for a week, he readily accepts. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize his whole family was included in the deal.

This book is sarcastically funny to the extreme. There’s not one thing that comes close to being realistic. Kids who like that type of humor will be highly entertained. Kids who prefer a main dish of reality with a side of humor may not go for this. I recommend Tom Angleberger or Dave Barry for the perfect blend of story and humor. Illustrations throughout.

Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Trey Burley]

We classify weird as good weird and bad weird. Bad weird is just confusing and seems to be different just for the sake of being different. Good weird is that surprising gem that flies out of left field, gleefully zigging and zagging with every page. How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is that happy, freaky and fun type of book.
It's at times very slightly familiar with its family dynamics, but give it a page or two and those characters will have another layer pulled back. They're not aliens in the form that they're wearing a mask. This is more of a Japanese mask, where they have multiple ways that they behave, relative to who they're interacting with. At its heart though, it's about family, a 10 year old boy who thinks that everything is weird and he's more correct than he knows.
This is a very fun book that will utterly surprise readers in upper elementary school and older. The chapters are short enough to where young readers can get through at lease one during a reading and the content is just perfect for the creatively inclined.

[Amber Webb]

Paul Noth showcased his fantasy-ridden brain in his debut book, How To Sell Your Family To Aliens. I found the book to wild, fun and entertaining. I know many children that will love the silliness and absurdity of the situations the Conklin family finds themselves in. Normal is no where near this family despite their best attempts. My kids and I laughed throughout the story and I can see lots of kids loving this book.

[Dina Burke]

Buy one copy for yourself and one for all the young people you care about. Your friends and family will be indebted for life. Hap Conklin is savy, smart, funny and extremely brave. A Huck Finn for the 21st century.

"How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens" is a brilliant book about family and how much we love them and need them even when they drive us nuts.

[Cathy]

Humorous story of Hap Conklin, Jr, whose father creates far-out gadgets that he sells on TV (reminded me of Ron Popeil.) While trying to save his baby sister from his mean grandmother, Hap accidentally sells his family to aliens and has to get them back.

Should appeal to middle graders.

[Chris]

Whatever you think happens in this book, you're wrong. It's too odd, random, and silly to predict. Which is good. This is lots of quirky, nonsensical fun.

[Seth]

From reading the title, this may seem like an instructional book, but instead, this is a book revolving around a family that lives in one room of a mansion. Their father is a famous and brilliant inventor for his mother. The father builds wild inventions for the kid’s grandmother but she keeps all the profits for herself. Happy Conklin Jr., the narrator has a wacky family for his grandmother uses these inventions on the children, such as, an abnormal beard on Happy Jr., imaginary talk with a bee that can predict the future, to glasses to change your features to someone else. A wild and funny book, this will be a fun read for the entire family. The plot line is laid out perfectly and the different icons and celebrities created make this world more intriguing. Not what I expected, but the story turned out even more interesting. [Please note that I read the manuscript version, and it is likely that there have been changes made]

[Maureen Cronin]

Entertaining and full of adventure in the sci-fi type read; the different places that this young boy and family go to are somewhat comical - somewhat for out in the fact that some of it is created by his own thought process. The main theme is that he doesn't really "sell his family", but creates a scenario that happens when he meets up with the aliens, thinks of something .. and poof - he gets money and his family (including the evil, scheming Grandmother) are then instantly transferred to aliens and in return he has stashes of money! There is action prior to this point, but that is when a lot more action takes place ... does he want them back? How would he get them, or even first ...where to find them?

[Teodora Gheorghe]

2,5 gubbinsian stars. "How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens" - isn't that an intriguing idea? Just kidding...or am I? 😂👽

Quirky, absurd, quite silly, fast-paced (maybe too fast) and packed with tons of crazy adventures...
I really liked some of the Sci-Fi ideas surrounding the aliens' universe (could have developed that part more).

It contains some violence/mature themes (I mean, a grandma experiments on her own grandchildren...). Not for small kids, I'd say.

[Lauren Hicks]

This was not a book that I typically read at all! However, I decided to read it because the author is visiting the library on January 22nd to speak to the students, and shocker- I actually enjoyed it. It was very silly, but it had great pacing and was easy to read. This will be a book that I will put into the hands of struggling readers or readers who love humor.

[Amie]

What a fun book. Though this is not likely to be a “classic” that will be passed on from generation to generation, it was creative, entertaining, and ultimately a heartwarming story about family. It had the feeling of many of the modern cartoons on TV, and I think most upper elementary to early middle school readers would enjoy it.

[Alison Huffman]

Reading the cover of this book, I assumed it would be funny directions on how to exactly sell your family to the aliens. However it is just a story about a family living in one room. This an extremely funny read from start to finish. The character range is extensive!

[Heidi]

Not my cup of tea but maybe some people will like it...

[Heather Gmiterek]

Laugh out loud funny.

[Patrick]

All three of the books in the series are super funny. Got them for my nephew and they remind me of all roll doll books that are used to love when I was a kid

[Monica]

This was a lot of goofy fun. Great for Wimpy Kids fans looking for something different. Also reminded me of The Mighty Odds and The True Meaning of Smekday.

[Ashley Ewert]

Too far fetched for me with a lot going on. I did like the illustrations to help the story move along but felt there were too many characters/inventions to keep track of.

[Deborah Good]

Cute story which I read to my granddaughters.

[Kendra]

A fun quirky kids story where the good guys are kinda bad and the bad guys have some good in them.

[Liam]

Pretty good. Not the best book ive read but pretty good

[Carina Maria]

3⭐

[Reader]

Happy yay

[Nova Zhou]

Just plain fun man.