S.O.S. From Outer Space Read online

  “Strap in!” Gabe said. “This might get bumpy!”

  The USS Bunsen Blaster shook and shuddered as the rocket thrusters turned on. The colorful planet grew closer until…

  FWOOOOSHHH! They safely landed!

  They quickly unbuckled their seatbelts, grabbed their helmets, and opened the door. A retractable ramp lowered down to the ground, and the DATA Set carefully stepped out into a bright, glowing light.

  And when the kids looked up, they were face-to-face with the perfect surprise.

  Chapter 7 Greetings, Earthlings!

  “Oh, Fave!” cried Laura. “It’s really you!”

  The little four-armed alien was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp.

  Laura rushed forward to hug her friend. “I can’t believe we found you!”

  While Laura and Fave reunited, the rest of the DATA Set marveled at everything around them—Fave’s planet was out of this world!

  Arches made of colorful crystal stretched high, weaving in and out of sleek futuristic buildings with shape-shifting windows. The USS Bunsen Blaster had landed on a glowing spaceport that changed from yellow to orange to green. Aliens of all shapes and sizes were whizzing by in silver space saucers. And high above, the DATA Set could make out the sparkling rings and twelve moons orbiting the planet.

  “Your home planet is amazing, Fave!” said Gabe.

  “Oh Gabe, Fave can’t understand our language,” Cesar reminded him.

  But the little alien smiled big. Fave held up a glowing orange orb gemstone in his hands. It looked just like the one Fave’s parents had used when they came to Earth. “Don’t worry, I have my translator orb. Welcome to the Poly Chrome Galaxy!”

  “Thank you, Fave! But we got your message,” Laura said. “Are you in danger?”

  “Danger?” Fave tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Your message said ‘S.O.S,’ ” Laura insisted. “That’s a call for help for humans on Earth.”

  “Oh dear,” Fave said. “On my planet, S.O.S means Sleppp Orrrghtzzz Slortzup.”

  Laura giggled. “We don’t know what that means, Fave.”

  “It means ‘Wish you were here,’ ” explained Fave. “I had wanted you to come visit, but I had no idea you thought I was in danger!”

  “Well, this is good news!” Olive jumped up and down. “Since everything is okay, we have twelve whole hours to explore!”

  Fave looked at Olive curiously. “I do not remember you. Are you a DATA Set?”

  “This is Olive,” Laura said. “And yes, she is definitely a member of the DATA Set.”

  Then Olive happily shook all four of Fave’s hands.

  “Well, as I think you earthlings would say—huzzah!” Fave exclaimed. “Follow me!”

  The little alien led the DATA Set through the bustling spaceport. And soon, they came to a silver and green saucer with one seat.

  “I don’t think we can all squeeze in there,” said Cesar. “I ate a lot of galactic space ice cream.”

  “Not to worry!” Fave cried. Then he pressed a button and the little ship expanded into an even bigger saucer.

  After everyone was buckled in, Fave smiled. “Our next stop is the Poly Chrome Meteor Park!”

  Chapter 8 The Poly Chrome Meteor Park

  Fave’s space saucer whizzed over his home planet’s terrain. Gabe, Laura, Cesar, and Olive were speechless as they pressed their noses against the glass. Everything here looked so different.

  Upside-down mountains rose tall, mist surrounding their peaks.

  Every so often, the mist would release a rainstorm of sparkling dust that powdered the ground. The moons that orbited high above shone bright colors that created rainbow moonbeams across the sky. Laura gazed down as they skimmed over a field of alien plants.

  “Laura, look!” Olive pointed ahead.

  A soft glow on the horizon became brighter and brighter. Fave sailed around one final mountain… and Meteor Park came into full view.

  “You weren’t kidding!” Cesar gasped. “It’s actually a meteor park!”

  The friends couldn’t believe their eyes. The amusement park was built on dozens of floating meteors! Jet-booster roller coasters zoomed from space rock to space rock, while hundreds of aliens of all shapes and sizes waited in line on floating staircases. At the center was a spectacular glowing orb pulsing every color imaginable in one epic light show.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Cesar pointed toward a giant arena. Aliens kicked flaming balls into shimmering nets while a massive crowd watched.

  “That is my favorite sport called alexipix,” Fave said.

  “Well, on Earth, it’s called… SOCCER!” cried Cesar.

  One of the aliens kicked his fiery ball into the net.

  “GOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!” cried Cesar.

  “FWWWEEEERRPPP!” roared the crowd.

  Right then, Fave flew his ship down into a docking bay. “We’re here!” he announced.

  “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” the kids cheered. They were ready for an epic intergalactic amusement park day!

  Gabe and Olive decided to hit the roller coasters first. “I-I-I-I C-C-C-C-AN’T F-F-F-FEEL M-M-M-MY B-B-B-B-BRAIN!” Gabe shouted as they skyrocketed around a twisting infinity loop.

  “Hey Fave, check this out!” Laura was playing a ring toss game where the ring would disappear into a small space portal and reappear a hundred yards away. “I think I just won a space teddy bear!”

  Meanwhile, Cesar headed for the snack bar. “Why doesn’t this exist on Earth?!” he said as he gobbled up rainbow slime. “This is my new favorite dessert EVER!”

  After that, they crammed into a supersonic photo booth to snap a group photo. Cesar even won a game of Whack-a-Space-Slug! His prize was a light-up replica of the giant space ball at the center of the Meteor Park. Even though it was tiny, it was powerful enough to create an awesome light show in the night sky.

  “I think I need a break,” Laura said, exhausted.

  “Yeah, and my stomach’s growling,” Gabe added.

  “Then I know exactly where we can go!” Fave cried.

  Chapter 9 Home Sweet Space Home

  After a short flight over the upside-down mountains, Fave safely landed the saucer and his parents greeted the DATA Set in front of their mushroom-shaped house.

  “Hello to the DATA Set—it’s great to see you again,” Fave’s mom spoke through her orb translator.

  “It’s good to see you, too!” Laura smiled.

  “You are just in time for dinner,” Fave’s dad said. “Please, come in.”

  Inside their home, everything was sleek, smooth, and bright white. White seats. White lights. White walls. But each time a surface was touched, a ripple of rainbow colors exploded across the blank canvas.

  “It feels like we’re inside of a painting,” marveled Olive.

  At the table, a wide spread of strange-looking leaves and spiky vines were laid out on platters for dinner.

  “Um, is it okay that the food is… wiggling?” asked Gabe.

  “Do not worry. These are what you would call fruits and vegetables on our planet,” Fave’s mom assured them. “Please enjoy.”

  Gabe, Laura, Cesar, and Olive each sampled a teeny-tiny bite.

  Fave watched as Laura’s eyes lit up. “You’re kidding me. This is delicious!” she cried.

  “But not as delicious as the celery on your planet,” Fave told her.

  Olive giggled. “We’ll agree to disagree on that one.” Then she took a huge bite of a squishy purple vine.

  The DATA Set munched and happily chatted with Fave’s family. The kids were all surprised to learn that some things were the same here as on Earth. Fave had to go to school every day. And he even had to help with chores. The only difference was that they had futuristic cleaning supplies the kids had never seen before.

  Then, after dinner, they headed to Fave’s room.

  “Wow, you have so many awards!” Laura admired Fave’s collection. “You m
ust be really smart.”

  “No, it is you who is really smart,” Fave told them. “I’ve told everyone I know about the DATA Set who saved me from being stuck on their planet.”

  The DATA Set laughed. “Yeah, we’re glad we were able to get you back home,” Laura said. “If only we didn’t live so far away.”

  “I know,” agreed Fave. “But at least now we can talk on the radio I built.” Fave showed her a replica of her international radio.

  “You made a radio just like mine?” Laura whispered.

  “Yes, a subspace radio!” Fave grinned. “It’s how I reached you! Now we can keep in touch every day.”

  Laura hugged her friend. “It’s perfect, Fave.”

  Just then, a high-pitched whine screeched out from Fave’s radio. When he adjusted the knob, a familiar frantic voice came through.

  “DATA Set? Are you there, DATA Set?”

  It was Dr. Bunsen!

  “S.O.S. from Earth!”

  Chapter 10 S.O.S. from Earth!

  “What’s wrong, Dr. B?” the DATA Set yelled through the radio.

  “Oh, thank goodness I got through to you!” The doctor breathed a sigh of relief. “You must come home quickly. There’s been a small… development.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Laura.

  “Well,” the doctor’s voice crackled. “The light show from your blastoff attracted. The neighbors are asking questions, a crowd has formed, and I’m concerned the Universal Coalition of Galaxies might step in if we don’t bring you back immediately.”

  “Okay, say no more. We’ll get back as soon as we can,” Gabe said.

  Quickly, the DATA Set hopped aboard Fave’s saucer and returned to the spaceport.

  “I guess this is goodbye again,” Laura said sadly to her friend.

  Fave handed Laura one of the photos they took at Meteor Park. “But now we will have a lot to talk about over our radios.”

  Laura nodded. “We sure will!”

  The DATA Set boarded the USS Bunsen Blaster and prepared for blastoff.

  “I just hope I won’t feel like throwing up again,” Cesar said with a gulp.

  Then the countdown began until… FWOOOOOM! The rocket blasted off the launchpad.

  “N-N-N-NOPE!” Cesar’s teeth clattered again. “J-J-J-JUST L-L-L-IKE B-B-B-BEFORE!”

  Then soon, everything quieted down and the DATA Set sailed across the cosmos. Exhausted from their interstellar adventure, they slept most of the way back until a familiar warning alarm blared as they reached Earth’s atmosphere.

  “I see the crowd!” Laura exclaimed as they approached Dr. Bunsen’s landing pad. “Oh, my gosh, even the mayor is there!”

  “With government agents,” Gabe added. He recognized the three men from the first time they had met Fave. “This doesn’t look good.”

  Fortunately, the crowd was gathered in front of Dr. B’s mansion, so the rocket was able to land without a sound, shielded by his noise-buffering force field. But just as before, the light from the rocket boosters was visible.

  “There it is again!” cried the crowd. “The mysterious light show!”

  “Just what is going on, Dr. Bunsen?” the mayor asked.

  “Well, uh, you see, the thing is…,” Dr. B stammered.

  “It’s just our science project light show!” Cesar declared. He and the DATA Set stepped through the front door of Dr. B’s mansion, still wearing their space suits. “We’re predicting what an intergalactic space party would look like,” he said. “With this!”

  Cesar held up the light orb he had won at Meteor Park.

  The crowd ooohhhed and ahhhed as the lights from Cesar’s orb filled the sky. It looked just like the flashing lights from the rocket blastoff and landing!

  “So, this whole time we’ve been going berserk over a school science project?” the mayor said in disbelief.

  The doctor nodded uneasily. He wasn’t sure if he was off the hook, but any questions could wait thanks to the DATA Set’s awesome timing. The kids came and saved the day—just like always.

  And luckily, at least for tonight, any weird happenings in Newtonburg would all be forgotten, thanks to an epic adventure with an old friend, an awesome light show, and a poly chromatic souvenir from the greatest place in all the galaxies.

  More from this Series

  March of the Mini Beasts

  Book 1

  Don't Disturb the…

  Book 2

  The Sky Is Falling

  Book 3

  Robots Rule the School

  Book 4

  A Case of the Clones

  Book 5

  Invasion of the Insects

  Book 6

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Ada Hopper has been extremely inventive ever since she was little. There was nothing that a rubber band and some tweezers couldn’t fix, no question that couldn’t be answered by scouring the library, and no way she wasn’t escaping over that backyard fence! Ada loves reading and writing because of all the fantastical worlds a good book can bring you to. When not working, Ada enjoys karaoke, spending time with her family, and going on the occasional adventure or two.

  Rafael Kirschner is a Brazilian illustrator and animator who builds his ideas through different styles, including graphite, watercolor, pastel, chalk, and acrylic paint. Rafael has owned a drawing school since 2000, teaching adults and children the art of drawing and expressing themselves through images.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Ada-Hopper

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Little Simon hardcover edition March 2022

  Copyright © 2022 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Designed by Jooahn Kwon

  Jacket design by Jooahn Kwon

  Jacket illustrations by Rafael Kirschner of Glass House Graphics and Sam Ricks

  Copyright © 2022 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-6659-0297-7 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-6659-0296-0 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-6659-0298-4 (ebook)

 

 

  Ada Hopper, S.O.S. From Outer Space

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends