The Alien Hunter’s Handbook: How to Look for Extraterrestrial Life

The first step to finding extraterrestrial life? That would be understanding terrestrial life, according to Brake. A mix of science and speculation, the book opens with an overview of the defining characteristics of life and some of Earth’s remarkable creatures, such as the microscopic tardigrade, which can exist in the vacuum of space. Topics like the development of solar systems, the speed of evolution, and the formation of language also get attention, laying factual groundwork for suppositions about what alien life could look like. Creatures with all manner of tentacles and antennae populate the pages, creating a lively atmosphere (so to speak). Ages 9–up. Illustrators’ agents: (for Jack) Shannon Associates; (for Ford) the Art Agency. (Oct.)