A Light in Space

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

While students in Grades 3 to 6 might initially assume that Orr’s
science-fiction novel is just another light, humorous read, they will
gradually uncover its cleverly disguised sinister themes. The story is
narrated alternately by Ysdran, a junior Explorer for the InterGalactic
Mineral Exploration Company, and by Andrew Shewan, a 12-year-old
Earthling. When Ysdran and Caneesh, her Companion, accidentally discover
a new solar system with a planet containing previously unknown life
forms, Ysdran is delighted, especially when her spaceship’s
instruments show this planet to be rich in hydrogen and oxygen,
“minerals” prized in her home world, Rougita.

Readers will be amused by Ysdran’s ethnocentric explanations of the
new beings, such as her initial assessment that Andrew’s
“companion,” a dog, is actually the superior life form. Andrew,
attracted by the “light in space,” sees the tiny spacecraft and its
jellyfishlike pilot, who makes a “mind” contact with him. Humor
continues as Andrew tries to tell his disbelieving parents and friends
about his UFO experience. On her voyage home to report her discovery,
Ysdran maintains her mind-speak communication with Andrew, whose
“primitive” intelligence, she believes, makes him “trainable.”
Orr’s skilful writing causes readers to join Andrew in assuming that
Ysdran’s training simply involves her teaching him how to move objects
without physically touching them. Only as the book’s conclusion
approaches does the horrible truth emerge. This “cute” creature,
whom Andrew would like to have as a pet, actually means to enslave
Andrew and have him “mine” Earth’s oxygen, an act that would also
exterminate its inhabitants. Recommended.