ALIENS ARE COMING!

Sandwiched between a look at Depression-era radios and a set of fanciful period advertisements, McCarthy delivers a semi-serious account of the 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast, illustrating both passages from the script and briefly told descriptions of widespread panic with smudgy cartoon scenes featuring bug-eyed monsters and equally bug-eyed people. The author closes with a substantial note that analyzes the broadcast’s immediate and long-term effects, points out that the announcers repeatedly admitted that they were presenting a drama during the broadcast, mentions several later revivals here and internationally and notes the response of H.G. Wells himself to the original production. She has also set up an invitingly designed web site with an array of relevant links. It’s a lighthearted but well-researched glimpse into one of our country’s quirkier collective moments, and readers will (justly) come away wondering whether it could happen again. (bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 9-11)