I’m thrilled to be sharing a brand new, out-of-this-world adventure from Hannah Moffatt. Make sure you scroll down to read her insightful piece about the childhood memories which inspired this bodacious story of wish-fulfilment and honouring a grandparent’s memory.

“HELP! ALIEN PIRATES STOLE MY GRANDAD! is an intergalactic adventure that asks a lot of BIG questions:

* Why is Harrison Brown pretending to be the Earthling Prime Minister?

* Who are the Cheddar Moon pirates and where’s their lucky parrot?

* What happens when you fire your dead grandpa’s ashes into space?

One teensy little fib plunges foolhardy ten-year-old Harrison headfirst into a daft and dangerous lunar parrot search. He’ll be plundering from pirates, wrangling space cows and even coming face-to-face with a ghost captain. But if he can’t find the pirates’ missing parrot by bedtime, he’ll be forced to walk the plank… into the BLACK HOLE.”

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Getting to the heart of the story: the memory driving Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad – by Hannah Moffatt.

I never had the chance to know my grandma (or Nanny, as my family all called her). I was six when she died and, like Harrison with his grandpa, my main memory of her was simply of a very old woman who always sat in a chair. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s just before I was born and by the time I was old enough to remember visiting her, she barely spoke.

But, also like Harrison, I remember how strongly I felt the sadness of her leaving us. I could see how devastated my older brother and parents were. I knew Nanny was important. I knew how powerless I’d been at stopping this awful thing happening to her. How unbearable the idea of losing a Mum was, whatever your age. Harrison feels this powerlessness too, and I always liked to think it’s the reason he’s so quick to pretend he’s the Earthling Prime Minister when the Cheddar Moon pirates come calling. He’s trying to regain control.

Even though I’d not been able to properly get to know her, Nanny lived on in the stories my mum told – about Nanny’stravels, about the wonderful cakes and biscuits she baked and exquisitely decorated, and about how fearless she was. Nanny didn’t want to be an astronaut like Grandpa Alf in this story, but I have no doubt she’d have been brave enough.

My parents decided it would be better for me not to go to Nanny’s funeral and honestly, I think it was the right decision. Yet now, all these years later, I think something about not being part of that final goodbye has stayed with me… only to find its way from the depths of my brain onto the pages of Help! Aliens Stole my Grandad. Although most of the book is undeniably daft, this story is also the chance for Harrison to accept his Grandpa’s death and say goodbye in his own way, while ultimately making a final choice (no spoilers!) that respects everything Gramps would have wanted. 

Saying goodbye at any age is hard. I hope this story might make it a little easier for young readers.

Help! Aliens Stole My Grandad, written by Hannah Moffatt and illustrated by Rory Walker is out with Everything With Words now.

I love a book which explores challenging themes in a sensitive way but with a large wedge of humour.

Newly confident readers will chortle at the cheesy jokes and plentiful illustrations, supported by the short chapters and fast-paced action. At the same time, they will be introduced to the themes of loss, remembrance, and celebrating those we love.

I would recommend this title for readers aged 7+

Jo.

*Many thanks to Everything With Words for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour*