Nick and his family are forced to leave Earth in order for him to keep his cat, Horace - because all pets are now banned, as they use up badly needed resources. They settle on Plowman's Planet, where they discover a variety of strange and wonderful alien lifeforms.
But not all of these weird lifeforms are benevolent - and the family is involved in a series of increasingly dangerous mishaps. Can Horace and Nick manage to outwit the Wub, the Werjes, the Trobes - and the most dangerous of all, the Glimmung?
Philip K. Dick's only children's book, first published after his death, brings together many of his most famous alien creations in one gently humorous tale.
**
From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—On Dick's futuristic Earth, pets are illegal, jobs are rationed, and school is taught in multiple classrooms by one teacher. Nick and his family face the Anti-Pet Man when news of their secret cat gets out. To save Horace, they leave Earth for Plowman's Planet, a 10-day journey into space. Awaiting them there are colonists caught between alien species, who are at war with each other. Nick encounters Glimmung, the most feared creature on the planet, who guards a book that tells the future. Horace gets snatched by the werjes, and Nick recruits the spiddles to help rescue him. Written in 1966, Dick's only YA book introduces young readers to concepts of government-controlled labor and housing, space colonization, video-teleconferencing, and 3-D printing. The plot is often difficult to follow and the dialogue stilted, but the overall entertainment value is sustained by the performance of Nick Podehl as narrator.—Alice Davidson, Indianapolis, IN
From Booklist
“But of all of them, father-things, werjes, trobes—Glimmung is the most dangerous and the one to be avoided.” It’s a credit to Dick’s wit and narrative tempo that by the time this sentence occurs readers will not only know what the heck he’s talking about, but they also might even chuckle a little bit at the sentiment. All this craziness begins on Earth, albeit a crowded futuristic version, where pets are no longer allowed. Nick has been hiding his cat, Horace, but when the anti-pet man shows up, Nick’s parents decide to move the family (and cat) to the lush paradise of Plowman’s Planet. Unfortunately they arrive in the midst of a weird war between various bizarre native creatures and the Glimmung, an evil being guarding a future-telling book. Written in 1966 but never released in the U.S., Dick’s only young-adult book feels more like an improvisation than a fully formed novel, but his dark humor, icky invertebrates, and almost Seussian sense of humor keep the focus off the shaky plot and on the admirable inventiveness. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus
Description:
Nick and his family are forced to leave Earth in order for him to keep his cat, Horace - because all pets are now banned, as they use up badly needed resources. They settle on Plowman's Planet, where they discover a variety of strange and wonderful alien lifeforms.
But not all of these weird lifeforms are benevolent - and the family is involved in a series of increasingly dangerous mishaps. Can Horace and Nick manage to outwit the Wub, the Werjes, the Trobes - and the most dangerous of all, the Glimmung?
Philip K. Dick's only children's book, first published after his death, brings together many of his most famous alien creations in one gently humorous tale.
**
From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—On Dick's futuristic Earth, pets are illegal, jobs are rationed, and school is taught in multiple classrooms by one teacher. Nick and his family face the Anti-Pet Man when news of their secret cat gets out. To save Horace, they leave Earth for Plowman's Planet, a 10-day journey into space. Awaiting them there are colonists caught between alien species, who are at war with each other. Nick encounters Glimmung, the most feared creature on the planet, who guards a book that tells the future. Horace gets snatched by the werjes, and Nick recruits the spiddles to help rescue him. Written in 1966, Dick's only YA book introduces young readers to concepts of government-controlled labor and housing, space colonization, video-teleconferencing, and 3-D printing. The plot is often difficult to follow and the dialogue stilted, but the overall entertainment value is sustained by the performance of Nick Podehl as narrator.—Alice Davidson, Indianapolis, IN
From Booklist
“But of all of them, father-things, werjes, trobes—Glimmung is the most dangerous and the one to be avoided.” It’s a credit to Dick’s wit and narrative tempo that by the time this sentence occurs readers will not only know what the heck he’s talking about, but they also might even chuckle a little bit at the sentiment. All this craziness begins on Earth, albeit a crowded futuristic version, where pets are no longer allowed. Nick has been hiding his cat, Horace, but when the anti-pet man shows up, Nick’s parents decide to move the family (and cat) to the lush paradise of Plowman’s Planet. Unfortunately they arrive in the midst of a weird war between various bizarre native creatures and the Glimmung, an evil being guarding a future-telling book. Written in 1966 but never released in the U.S., Dick’s only young-adult book feels more like an improvisation than a fully formed novel, but his dark humor, icky invertebrates, and almost Seussian sense of humor keep the focus off the shaky plot and on the admirable inventiveness. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus