Over the Rainbow with Googol and Googolplex.

Deborah Dowson is a Canaadian children’s librarian in North Wales,
Pennsylvania.

On their third visit to Earth, Googol and Googolplex find Troy and Pippa staying at their aunt’s house. Aunt Sara paints in the afternoons, which leaves time for the children to help the alien robots with their scavenger hunt. This time they hope to return with “all the colours of a rainbow, two coconuts, a ball of wool, and the milk from a cow.” They have a little trouble with the list as the rainbow they chase continues to elude them, and Farmer Ben has told the kids he doesn’t want them near his cows. When the cows escape and the kids help bring them home, however, Farmer Ben has a change of heart and allows them to help with the milking. In the end, the robots are satisfied with their collection, and the children take home a souvenir painting by Aunt Sara of their most recent adventure.

The story is easy to read, fun, and interesting with lots of expressive and lively vocabulary as well as visually descriptive language. Also, the premise of cute, curious, and friendly alien robots discovering ordinary things about Earth is a clever way to inform youngsters about simple facts, such as the nature of rainbows, or where milk comes from, in a way that is incidental to the story. The possibility that grown-ups will discover the aliens keeps the story suspenseful. The colourful cover and full-page drawings make for a very appealing beginning chapter book. Highly recommended.