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A Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural #3
Sightseeing with Aliens: A Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural
Discover everything about aliens in this funny and informative handbook packed with weird science, fascinating history, and plenty of trivia—perfect for curious and adventurous readers ages 8�12.
Are aliens out there? What’s the deal with Area 51? Can outer space support human life? Blast off to space with Sightseeing with Aliens and discover:
Cool science and eye-opening history! Learn about the past, present, and future of space exploration.
Strange accounts of alien encounters! Dig into the truth behind UFO sightings, crop circles, extraterrestrial events, and more.
Hands-on activities to try at home! Create a time capsule and learn how to advocate for the environment.
Engaging, offbeat, and educational, Sightseeing with Aliens is an illustrated exploration of the unknown and how it can shape our lives. The whole galaxy is out there—grab your guide, and let’s go!
Are aliens out there? What’s the deal with Area 51? Can outer space support human life? Blast off to space with Sightseeing with Aliens and discover:
Cool science and eye-opening history! Learn about the past, present, and future of space exploration.
Strange accounts of alien encounters! Dig into the truth behind UFO sightings, crop circles, extraterrestrial events, and more.
Hands-on activities to try at home! Create a time capsule and learn how to advocate for the environment.
Engaging, offbeat, and educational, Sightseeing with Aliens is an illustrated exploration of the unknown and how it can shape our lives. The whole galaxy is out there—grab your guide, and let’s go!
- GenresNonfictionHumorChildrens
128 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2024
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Insha Fitzpatrick
8books16followers☀ Cancer | ↑Capricorn | � Gemini
She/They
Insha Fitzpatrick is a New Jersey-based writer and editor.
She’s the founder of DIS/MEMBER, a horror genre website.
She’s the writer of the upcoming Who Sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Rosa Parks for WHO HQ, illustrated by Abelle Hayford. She’s also the co-writer of the middle-grade graphic novel series Oh My Gods (Etch) with Stephanie Cooke and illustrator Juliana Moon.
Her bylines include Geek.com, Birth.Movies.Death, Women Write About Comics, Frederator Studios, and more. She giggles on the podcast Film Runners. She also wrote the game “The Pollution of Conatha� in Uncaged Anthology Vol. 2, 2019.
When she’s not writing, she’s watching horror movies or reality tv, deep-diving into all things true crime, and learning how to ink comics.
She’s rep’d by Maria Vicente of P.S Literary Agency.
She/They
Insha Fitzpatrick is a New Jersey-based writer and editor.
She’s the founder of DIS/MEMBER, a horror genre website.
She’s the writer of the upcoming Who Sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Rosa Parks for WHO HQ, illustrated by Abelle Hayford. She’s also the co-writer of the middle-grade graphic novel series Oh My Gods (Etch) with Stephanie Cooke and illustrator Juliana Moon.
Her bylines include Geek.com, Birth.Movies.Death, Women Write About Comics, Frederator Studios, and more. She giggles on the podcast Film Runners. She also wrote the game “The Pollution of Conatha� in Uncaged Anthology Vol. 2, 2019.
When she’s not writing, she’s watching horror movies or reality tv, deep-diving into all things true crime, and learning how to ink comics.
She’s rep’d by Maria Vicente of P.S Literary Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 7, 2024
Fitzpatrick writes a book that helps tweens learn about how to think in a disciplined way instead of a superstitious way by looking at UFOs (now referred to as UAP, which stands for "unidentified anomalous phenomena") through the lens of history, science, folklore, and communications (media studies). She describes the way people have observed things in the sky that they do not understand and how they explain these phenomena to themselves and others.
I had heard about just a handful of cases, and she presents two dozen or more. She provides some feasible explanations for what people thought they were seeing; however, there are still some unclear explanations to leave young readers with some sense of mystery and the paranormal.
She provides text boxes with definitions of key words or some context for the individual events.
These are here chapter titles: (Know that most chapters end with a hands-on activity tied to space and/or aliens.):
Introduction: Hello? Is anyone out there? This explains key vocabulary words and concepts.
Ch. 1: Aliens 101: What's up with aliens anyway? (This contains among other things, a glossary for commonly described aliens: The Greys, The Nordics, The Reptilian, Little Green Men, and (not squarely in the alien category) Fairies / Cryptids.
Ch. 2: Race You to Space: Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo get this chapter started. The second half has more detail about the space race, the cold war, and sightings of aliens in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ch. 3: Get In. We're Going Sightseeing. This chapter includes information and legends about Rosewell. Sandwiched in between are four other infamous incidents such as the Ariel School Incident in Zimbabwe (1994), The Betty and Barney Hill Incident in New Hamphire (1961), The Rendlesham Forest Incident in England (1980), The Travis Walton Incident in Arizona (1975).
Ch. 4: Take Me to Your Leader. This chapter explains some government projects designed to study unexplained space phenomena. It then explains the dangers to humans and other living things on earth when visiting space. The chapter ends by listing some things readers can do to keep earth a livable place (given that space is pretty hostile to earth creatures).
Ch. 5: Interstellar Reads (GREAT LIST of books that depict aliens)
Ch. 6: We Want to Believe (Great Lists of Films and TV shows depicting aliens)
Conclusion.
I had heard about just a handful of cases, and she presents two dozen or more. She provides some feasible explanations for what people thought they were seeing; however, there are still some unclear explanations to leave young readers with some sense of mystery and the paranormal.
She provides text boxes with definitions of key words or some context for the individual events.
These are here chapter titles: (Know that most chapters end with a hands-on activity tied to space and/or aliens.):
Introduction: Hello? Is anyone out there? This explains key vocabulary words and concepts.
Ch. 1: Aliens 101: What's up with aliens anyway? (This contains among other things, a glossary for commonly described aliens: The Greys, The Nordics, The Reptilian, Little Green Men, and (not squarely in the alien category) Fairies / Cryptids.
Ch. 2: Race You to Space: Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo get this chapter started. The second half has more detail about the space race, the cold war, and sightings of aliens in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ch. 3: Get In. We're Going Sightseeing. This chapter includes information and legends about Rosewell. Sandwiched in between are four other infamous incidents such as the Ariel School Incident in Zimbabwe (1994), The Betty and Barney Hill Incident in New Hamphire (1961), The Rendlesham Forest Incident in England (1980), The Travis Walton Incident in Arizona (1975).
Ch. 4: Take Me to Your Leader. This chapter explains some government projects designed to study unexplained space phenomena. It then explains the dangers to humans and other living things on earth when visiting space. The chapter ends by listing some things readers can do to keep earth a livable place (given that space is pretty hostile to earth creatures).
Ch. 5: Interstellar Reads (GREAT LIST of books that depict aliens)
Ch. 6: We Want to Believe (Great Lists of Films and TV shows depicting aliens)
Conclusion.
October 12, 2024
This title in a series has so much h going for it.
First, the voice is a winner, and the writing style serves the subject and its audience really well. With light touches of casual language and humor throughout, the direct address voice captures readers with and "inside story" and connection to the author. The title and intro make the point tat this is NONFICTION, despite eventually dealing with science fiction and disputed claims about first person experiences. Facts are shared and questioning points are raised, with the reality that some fictional tales may have influenced the perceptions (or trickery) of those making c claims.
Next, the topic of potential extraterrestrial life is presented fully and with specific details, but allows for further research and potential future pursuits to answer the many unanswered questions.
In addition, there are break out sidebars of science facts, as well as "things to do at home" that are quite clear and appealing. When the author uses small passages that break away from that direct address narrative/presumed dialogue with the reader, it is made clear to what extent the passages are or are not imaginary.
back matter and other nonfiction elements lend validity to the creator and also allow for v reification of statements and details presented.
This author is a woman of color who is occasionally pictured in the spot illustrations, and that occurs so naturally that it subtly confirms that everyone has a place in science and investigations of this kind.
Highly recommended!
First, the voice is a winner, and the writing style serves the subject and its audience really well. With light touches of casual language and humor throughout, the direct address voice captures readers with and "inside story" and connection to the author. The title and intro make the point tat this is NONFICTION, despite eventually dealing with science fiction and disputed claims about first person experiences. Facts are shared and questioning points are raised, with the reality that some fictional tales may have influenced the perceptions (or trickery) of those making c claims.
Next, the topic of potential extraterrestrial life is presented fully and with specific details, but allows for further research and potential future pursuits to answer the many unanswered questions.
In addition, there are break out sidebars of science facts, as well as "things to do at home" that are quite clear and appealing. When the author uses small passages that break away from that direct address narrative/presumed dialogue with the reader, it is made clear to what extent the passages are or are not imaginary.
back matter and other nonfiction elements lend validity to the creator and also allow for v reification of statements and details presented.
This author is a woman of color who is occasionally pictured in the spot illustrations, and that occurs so naturally that it subtly confirms that everyone has a place in science and investigations of this kind.
Highly recommended!
October 23, 2024
For anyone who has considered the possibility of life outside of our solar system...
This 'field guide' is a fun and informative read about the history of space travel, alien encounters, alien pop culture references. The author introduces readers to different terminology related to aliens, like 'abductee', 'contactee', 'UFO', as well as discussing what aliens could look like and encounters that people have reportedly had with aliens. There are factual pop-ups in the book that give readers facts about the context of aliens, and different crafts and activities that readers can do (my personal favorite being a book scavenger hunt for books about the supernatural, where they tell readers to visit the local library). This book combines information with quirky and bright illustrations of aliens and humans, and is overall a fun read.
This book is not meant to be a serious exploration on the topic of aliens, but a fun read for middle graders about aliens and the lore surrounding them. I thought that this book was really fun, and included factual details about alien encounters, space travel in our lifetimes, and survival in space for astronauts that could be useful to readers looking for facts. I think that this book is great for middle grade and upper elementary readers, as a fun nonfiction text to read about possible supernatural life.
I don't see any educational uses of this book, more just a fun read for students to pick up and be intrigued by both the cover illustration and the title.
This 'field guide' is a fun and informative read about the history of space travel, alien encounters, alien pop culture references. The author introduces readers to different terminology related to aliens, like 'abductee', 'contactee', 'UFO', as well as discussing what aliens could look like and encounters that people have reportedly had with aliens. There are factual pop-ups in the book that give readers facts about the context of aliens, and different crafts and activities that readers can do (my personal favorite being a book scavenger hunt for books about the supernatural, where they tell readers to visit the local library). This book combines information with quirky and bright illustrations of aliens and humans, and is overall a fun read.
This book is not meant to be a serious exploration on the topic of aliens, but a fun read for middle graders about aliens and the lore surrounding them. I thought that this book was really fun, and included factual details about alien encounters, space travel in our lifetimes, and survival in space for astronauts that could be useful to readers looking for facts. I think that this book is great for middle grade and upper elementary readers, as a fun nonfiction text to read about possible supernatural life.
I don't see any educational uses of this book, more just a fun read for students to pick up and be intrigued by both the cover illustration and the title.
October 23, 2024
SIGHTSEEING WITH ALIENS: A TOTALLY FACTUAL GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL is a non-fiction book about aliens. That's not an oxymoron! Nor is the author proposing that aliens are anything other than made-up entities. She's just exploring the tantalizing idea of their existence and looking at some of the science and lore surrounding the idea of extraterrestrial life.
The book is written in a playful, conversational style that makes it clear it's a just-for-fun read. Still, it brings in real history, science, mythology, and events to help the text be more than just engaging entertainment. I, for one, learned a number of things I didn't know. There are also interesting pop-ups throughout the book that provide extra facts and insight as well as a few suggested activities (like making a bottle rocket or baking "galaxy" cookies) that relate to the subject. The chapters on aliens in pop culture are especially fun.
SIGHTSEEING WITH ALIENS features soft, watercolor-type illustrations that are eye-catching without being overstimulating. They depict friendly aliens interacting with humans who are mostly people of color, which is refreshing. The book's pictures echo its primary message about being open to and learning from "alien" beings, or anyone who is different from you in color, ethnicity, culture, lifestyle, beliefs, etc.
As you can tell, there are plenty of reasons to love this book. It's entertaining, informative, upbeat, and just fun. Any alien lover will enjoy it. It makes me want to pick up the other books in the "Totally Factual Field Guide" series.
The book is written in a playful, conversational style that makes it clear it's a just-for-fun read. Still, it brings in real history, science, mythology, and events to help the text be more than just engaging entertainment. I, for one, learned a number of things I didn't know. There are also interesting pop-ups throughout the book that provide extra facts and insight as well as a few suggested activities (like making a bottle rocket or baking "galaxy" cookies) that relate to the subject. The chapters on aliens in pop culture are especially fun.
SIGHTSEEING WITH ALIENS features soft, watercolor-type illustrations that are eye-catching without being overstimulating. They depict friendly aliens interacting with humans who are mostly people of color, which is refreshing. The book's pictures echo its primary message about being open to and learning from "alien" beings, or anyone who is different from you in color, ethnicity, culture, lifestyle, beliefs, etc.
As you can tell, there are plenty of reasons to love this book. It's entertaining, informative, upbeat, and just fun. Any alien lover will enjoy it. It makes me want to pick up the other books in the "Totally Factual Field Guide" series.
October 16, 2024
A fantastic introduction to the world of aliens! From the history of astronomy (great knowledge base), to the types of aliens that have been “seen� to the locations they’ve been recorded, and even dabbling in science fiction - Fitzpatrick covers all the bases in this nonfiction middle-grade. Cleverly written, with plenty of humor and engaging material throughout, this book will keep readers wanting to continue turning the page. The voice is conversational and addressing the reader throughout. Fun at-home activities and sidebars are included to emphasize concepts. Bibliography includes numerous resources readers could use to investigate the topic further.
July 10, 2024
Very cool!
Who doesn't love aliens 👽
I loved the tone and quirky way of speaking with some spacey jargon. Very appealing visually and easy to read. Absolutely fascinating and fun! So much is covered.
My reading notes 📝
� Green with purple 💚💜
� "Willy Shakes".. lol
� Green-skinned boy and girl found in St. Martin's Land 😲
� Giordano Bruno 💔 Just absolutely tragic ..and Galileo
� Project blue book 😎
� The Voyager Golden Records
Love, love, loved all the alien sightings, encounters and strange happenings. All around a fantastic book.
Keep those eyes on the skies 🛸
Who doesn't love aliens 👽
I loved the tone and quirky way of speaking with some spacey jargon. Very appealing visually and easy to read. Absolutely fascinating and fun! So much is covered.
My reading notes 📝
� Green with purple 💚💜
� "Willy Shakes".. lol
� Green-skinned boy and girl found in St. Martin's Land 😲
� Giordano Bruno 💔 Just absolutely tragic ..and Galileo
� Project blue book 😎
� The Voyager Golden Records
Love, love, loved all the alien sightings, encounters and strange happenings. All around a fantastic book.
Keep those eyes on the skies 🛸
June 27, 2024
Cleverly written and researched, SIGHTSEEING WITH ALIENS is third in the A Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural Non-fiction Series for Children. Investigating Space, UFO History, Science Fiction, and the History of Science, this adorable illustrated book also includes experiments and recipes to be explored at home.
February 5, 2025
Fun read! Library borrow
March 18, 2025
Cute.
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