A Martian gets more than he bargained for when he abducts some farm animals.
Written to the tune of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” this frolicsome ditty follows a curious alien as he wonders about the animals that he sees on Earth. “With a ZERP ZAP here, / and a ZERP ZAP there,” the sheep, cat, cow, and pig all go flying up into the spaceship; the light-skinned farmer stays behind, but the alien zaps up the farmer’s overalls and boots and happily dons them. With three eyes and a bulbous pink head, Old MacMartian attempts to run some experiments on the animals, but the livestock have other ideas. The cow munches on everything in sight (including the Martian’s prized marshmallows), the pig splatters mud everywhere, and the sheep and cat run amok. Old MacMartian and his three-eyed dog are overwhelmed. To put a stop to the mayhem, he returns the barnyard animals to the farmer (“BACK TO EARTH YOU GO!”). Storytime audiences will delight in the repeated titular refrain (“E-I-UFO”), and space enthusiasts will enjoy seeing the intricate mechanisms and control panel inside the spaceship. The rollicking narrative may take some practice to avoid falling back into the familiar lyrics of the original, but it’s easy enough to grasp.
Lively, playful, singalong fun.
(Picture book. 3-6)