THE TROUBLE WITH EARTH

Earth’s fellow planets suffer from galactic envy.

The planets are going on vacation but won’t allow Earth on the bus. Mars claims she’s not on the list; the others say there’s no room. Earth doesn’t understand what’s happening and drives all night to locate her friends. She finds all eight lounging in a hot tub. (Pluto has horned in.) When Earth confronts them, they reveal the truth: She has fleas. They’ve seen her scratching! Could she be contagious? Earth laughs and invites the other planets to examine her atmosphere. Holy biodiversity! Upon closer inspection, the planets see marvelous animals and plants of every description—including fleas—living everywhere. Earth agrees she’s “infested” but says she loves all her creatures. She assures her fellow planets they could never catch what she’s got because only conditions on Earth allow life to thrive. When the planets express their jealousy, Earth invites them to visit her so she can explain how special her lifeforms are. The following year, guess whose name’s first on the bus list? Children will enjoy this cute U.K. import’s thought-provoking, life-affirming, conservationist premise, expressed with breezy, rhyming verse; they’ll also learn some very basic facts about the planets in the process. The energetic illustrations are appealing: The expressive, spherical planets have tiny eyes and stick-figure limbs, and Earth’s abundant lifeforms burst from the pages with colorful glee.

Let’s hear it for Earth: The third planet from the sun has plenty to cheer about.