The Mystery of UFOs

To look just at the art in this probing overview of UFO sightings, a reader would probably expect the tone to be light. First-time children's book illustrator Clarke's chinless, rubber-limbed humans look nearly as bizarre as his aliens, and most of the sentient entities he portrays, animals as well as people, wear a look of puzzled shock. Pop-eyed extraterrestrials cheerfully spy on children and traverse galaxies, while inset maps ground readers in the earthly locations of various sightings. The text, however, is a respectable mix of the factual and the speculative, with the balance only slightly tipped toward the possibility that aliens have indeed visited earth. Beginning with Yakima legend and referring to biblical times as well, Herbst (Bio Amazing) cites reports of UFOs, especially those in 20th-century America: ""Something awfully strange seems to be going on,"" she ventures. She discusses Jungian theories as well as the existence of covert government operations as alternate explanations for the suggestion of extraterrestrial activity, then frames the issues with a full complement of drama (""The question here is not whether Lonnie Zamora saw a craft of some kind touch down and then take off. The question is: whose craft was it--ours or theirs?""). A thought-provoking and useful introduction to the facts for anyone interested in the idea of flying saucers--and especially fans of The X-Files. Ages 7-11. (Nov.)