The Babysitter from Another Planet by Stephen Savage

Hello, Stephen Savage! Welcome back to Watch. Connect. Read. Thank you for returning to celebrate The Babysitter from Another Planet’s cover. Please tell us about the scene featured on the cover.

Stephen: I love it when the story in a picture book starts on the cover, as it does here: a brother and a sister gaze through the huge picture window of their mid-century house waiting for their babysitter to arrive. Hey! There she is! In a flying saucer?!? [cue eerie sci-fi theremin music: "weeee-oooo-moooo-eeee-oooo"]

What planted the seed for The Babysitter from Another Planet?

Stephen: I tried a tactic on this book I've never tried before: I thought of the title first. It's that juxtaposition of the ordinary (a babysitter) with the extraordinary (aliens and outer space). I also love the sound and rhythm of the words. Makes you smile.

What would we see if we visited your studio?

Stephen: You'd see absolute CHAOS. There's junk everywhere: doodles on post-it notes, 1950's kids books, Broadway musical Playbills, candy bar wrappers, empty seltzer water cans. You might also see Rudy and Trinka (my dogs) in their beds and my studio mate (the very talented illustrator Aimee Sicurro) at her desk.

Please finish these sentence starters:

School libraries are where kids go to learn how to be human beings on this planet.

Mr. Schu, you should have asked me when is a good time for a studio visit! The answer is anytime! Take the water taxi over to Red Hook, Brooklyn next time you're in New York City and come see us! But please pardon the mess.

Look for The Babysitter from Another Planet on February 12, 2019 | Neal Porter Books/Holiday House 

The kids are in for a treat when their parents leave them with a babysitter who is truly out of this world--an alien!

When their parents go out for the evening, a brother and sister are left with a babysitter unlike any they've ever had before--an alien from another planet! But even though she seems a little strange, the kids quickly see that this babysitter can make anything fun...even brushing their teeth and doing their homework.

With references to everything from '50s Science Fiction movies (sure to produce a chuckle from knowing parents) to E.T., bestselling author Stephen Savage has produced a visual and verbal tour de force that will have kids begging for more.