The Boy Who Fell from The Sky

For the uninitiated, middle grade books are books written for children between the ages of 8 to 12. But, even if you are not, you can enjoy these books regardless. For example, I mostly read middle grade fantasy because I have always loved that genre, and it has and will most likely always be my happy place. Reading is a deeply personal activity, and you can choose what you like to read. It is completely fine to read the ‘not so in vogue or popular or trending’ books. I believe that we should let people read what they love, unless they are middle graders who might need to be guided as to what to read. As a parent, teacher, guardian who might be reading this article, I believe it is important to help kids discover stories and genres they like based on their interests. If they love cars, superheroes and bugs, then you might want to start with books that have characters related to the things they already love. This will help keep young readers interested and engaged in reading stories about what truly matters to them rather than being compelled to read books that don’t really resonate with them, which will lead them to fall out of the love for reading.

Without further ado, let’s plunge right into this article and discover what this book is about and if this book might be a title you would like to add to your middle graders or your TBR.

The Boy Who Fell from the Sky – What is the Book About?

Zed or Zedaya Smyth is living with his dad, who is a renowned Hunter, working under the Authority, an organization committed to catching demons that fall from outer space. In this riveting middle grade sci-fi story, we embark on an adventure that takes us beyond earth.

Zed aspires to be just like his dad and granddad before him, who have made a name for themselves as hunters as part of the Authority. When Zed meets a supposedly evil demon, who doesn’t quite live up to its evil reputation, Zed finds his first friend, despite that friend being from another world, a much-feared demon who Zed and those in his world have been taught to fear and hate vehemently.

Despite this, Zed and Spark the demon, develop a close relationship. Zed and Spark learn that Speck, Spark’s brother, is being held by the Authority, a situation that has been established to protect humans from the supposedly villainous demons. Spark shows Zed that the whole reputation the Authority has created around demons is unjustified and unfounded.

Zed decides to defy his father and help Spark rescue his brother Speck. There is a big twist in this book, which I am not going to spoil for you. The characters are unbelievably realistic and relatable. I relate with Zed so much, because he too suffers from passive pressure to live up to the expectations of those around him, which paralyses him and makes it difficult for him to make the right decision.

This book can be enjoyed by both middle graders, parents with middle grade children, middle grade teachers or anyone who loves a good character driven, fast paced and action-packed sci fi story. I loved the wit and humour incorporated into this book, which made it a truly entertaining and engaging read.

This book also teaches kids and perhaps can teach adults, not to discriminate based on popular belief and stereotypes. Not all people fit stereotypes, and when we are angry, it is very easy to generalize and blame a whole community for the seeming slips of a few. This story reminds middle graders and everyone who reads it to always look at things critically and question societal and cultural norms.

I loved the friendship portrayed between Zed and Spark, who must work together to leave behind their differences and despite being worlds apart, literally and metaphorically, their friendship flourishes as they learn more about each other.

What is Middle Grade Science Fiction?

Middle Grade books are books meant for kids between the ages of 8 to 12, but that doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy these too. Science fiction includes fiction based on real or imaginary science upon the overall culture, society and people. This can be advanced technology and the impact it has on the lives of those who are part of these futuristic civilizations. Middle grade science fiction, as you might have guessed, is stories based on the near or distant future for kids between the ages of 8 to 12.

This book allows readers to engage imaginative and creative thinking, which lets them explore different ways of thinking. Everyone is different and this book is all about embracing and accepting our differences and owning up to our choices. We as humans have come far in terms of technology but one question, we might want to ask ourselves in this age of digital development and progress is, have we sacrificed our humanity for progress and innovation? This book dives deep into this question in an entertaining way that is not tedious but written in a masterful and creative manner.

Why is Middle Grade Science Fiction Important?

While I am a big fan of middle grade fantasy, middle grade sci-fi or any kind of sci fi never really caught my attention. But something about the blurb of The Boy Who Fell From the Sky caught my eye, not to mention the stunning cover with every colour you could ever imagine on it (by now you must be able to tell I do judge books by their cover at times, and this time happened to be one time I didn’t really regret being deceived by appearances). Middle grade science fiction, like fantasy, allows us and the middle graders in our lives to imagine what could be, the possibilities. As no two people think alike, this is a very important thing you need to keep in mind as to why you need to encourage your young ones to read as a parent, teacher, librarian or guardian.

Reading Makes the Mind Disciplined

By reading, children develop skills in discipline and focus. The sense of achievement and fulfilment that involves reading a book cover to cover, will give the child in your life a sense of accomplishment. Reading will help your child to stay more focused and less distracted. This can also help them perform well in academic activities.

It Opens Up Doors to New Possibilities

This story touches upon space and space travel. The alien or demon in this case who is named Spark wants to get back to his world. He can shapeshift. The strange weapons that the hunters use to capture demons that fall from the skies including the headquarters of the Authority, where the hunters work, gives the story a futuristic feeling.

Helps Kids Become Aware About the World and Beyond

Regardless of the futuristic setting of the story, the problems discussed in the story are more modern in nature. From the difficulty kids have making solid and long-lasting friendships in this day and age, to kids who are bullied and looked down upon for being different, this book explores different challenges middle graders are highly likely to experience in their day-to-day life.

Reading Allows Children to Know Themselves and Others Better

Furthermore, the relationship between parents and children is explored at a deep level here. When society along with parents place too much emphasis on what a child should be and do, then the chances of the things being too overwhelming is portrayed well in this book. This book encourages children to think for themselves just as much as they consider what their parents tell them. I believe that is important. As a child, who will one day grow into an adult, children should be encouraged to develop a sense of autonomy and independent thinking. Thinking for themselves will help a child to get better at making decisions and better choices that aligns with their authentic beliefs and values.

Why I Loved This Book

While there were many reasons to love this book, I thought of mentioning some here so that it might inspire and intrigue you to find out more about this book or pick it up for the middle grader in your life or for yourself. I loved this book because I related deeply to Zed. I felt the pressure he felt from his dad’s side to prove himself and follow in the footsteps of his family. But Zed questions this and explores what he truly wants. I believe this is something important for every middle grader to know. We are free to choose our own fates in terms of what we decide to grow up to be something that I realised a bit too late for my comfort.

The Story Encourages Kids to Be Curious

In this book, the protagonist Zed isn’t rebellious for the sake of being rebellious but instead he is so because he understands and believes in the fact that his dad might be wrong. As a reader, I completely agreed with Zed’s decision to follow his conscience. This story shows that it takes an exceptional amount of courage to follow your dreams and that sometimes, what you think is what you want is not what is best for you. This book managed to deliver so many important life lessons in a fun and digestible way that despite not being a middle grader myself, I can say with confidence that it truly was a magical and life-changing read.

Teaches the Value of Acceptance and Looking Past Differences

The Boy Who Fell from the Sky is the title in this book, and the protagonist is not the boy who fell from the sky. The boy mentioned in the book title is an alien boy or demon as known in Zed’s world, which is modelled after our world but in a more futuristic setting. From his early childhood, Zed is taught to despise and distrust demons, who according to his dad and the superior who is the head of the institution named Authority are advocating for hunting down these aliens or demons. The book goes on to show how we as humans have sadly throughout history treated those who are different to us in terms of looks or beliefs.

It is Not Just Deep but Entertaining

If you are looking for a book that doesn’t just educate but also entertains your middle grader or you for that matter, this book is an excellent pick that will keep you turning pages. Not only does this book invite readers to be more empathetic and understanding but it also encourages and invites us to be more thoughtful in our day-to-day interactions. This can be helpful to instil good values in your middle grader at an early stage in life that will allow them to carry these qualities over to their future lives.

I loved the fact that Zed is curious about everything and questions everything when he needs to. We and the middle graders in our life live in a society where we are bombarded with information, messages and ideas that it can be quite confusing and paralysing to discover our identity and authentic self. These topics are explored at a deeper level in this book which makes this book an excellent read for middle graders who most likely are grappling with similar questions and ideas in their life. This book is packed with thoughts and observations mainly by the protagonist Zed and Spark the hunted Demon that are both profound and thought provoking.

Some of My Favourite Scenes from The Book

Some of my favourite scenes from the book include when Zed keeps doubting if his dad will abandon him when his dad loses his most prized possession which is a platinum medal he has been holding for some time awarded for the best hunter by the Authority, when the demon escapes thanks to Zed, his dad is demoted down to the bronze medal by the superior. When Zed feels guilty for having caused his father to be demoted from his most coveted position of being a much-admired hunter, Zed questions if his dad will abandon him for his mistakes.

The next scene that really hit home was the scene where Zed begins to question everything that he had thought to be true and aspired to live up to all being founded upon a lie. He questions the Authority and the false information it had fed the society about demons by villainizing them when he begins to question if the demons are the real villains after all.

Zed realises that in truth the institution of Authority is making a sport out of hunting lost people from another world. He realises this when he meets and finds out the truth from Spark, the supposedly deadly demon who ends up being Zed’s best friend.

I also love the bit where Spark, the demon puts a bully in their place. Spark does this by telling the bully off and using wit, humour and sarcasm to make the bully back away. This is quite a hilarious scene where Spark the demon boy compares the bully to a pig and calls her mother Mrs Pig. I couldn’t stop laughing at the witty words of Spark. 

Why Middle Graders Will Love This Book

Some of the major themes of this book include self-discovery, survival and technology. This makes these books ideal for middle graders who are in one way, or another might be having to deal with one or perhaps all the themes linked to this book.

Jed struggles with understanding who he really is, when his father and the society tries to shape his identity, he realises that he doesn’t need to be what everyone tells him to be, and that he has the power and the ability to choose his own identity.

Just as some or if not, most middle graders do, Jed finds it difficult to find friends who understand him and who stand up for him. This resonated with me, and I know for a fact that it will resonate with middle graders who struggle between trying to fit in and to be their true version. I enjoyed reading the scenes where Jed and Spark work together trying to figure out a way out of their problem, which you will find out about once you pick up the book and give it a read!

About the Author

Benjamin Dean is an author who has worked in celebrity journalism. In addition to the book THE BOY WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, he has written other books including his debut, ME, MY DAD AND THE END OF THE RAINBOW, THE SECRET SUNSHINE PROJECT, THE KING IS DEAD and HOW TO DIE FAMOUS.

The Wild Robot Book Review

If you are looking for a book that is deeply moving and will help your middle grader hone their emotional intelligence, there is no better recommendation to offer than the book The Wild Robot.

This is a book about survival, resilience, nature and an attempt to answer the philosophical question of ‘if there is a meaning to life?’

The book explores these themes in different scenes of the book that are as memorable and striking as Aesops Tales. The language is simple yet packs a punch in terms of conveying deep emotions. 

The Wild Robot is a story about a Roz, a robot who is washed away on the shore of an island when the ship that had been transporting her and some other robots sank in the sea. Roz is accidentally activated by a group of playful otters.

When Roz is activated in the wild, quite not knowing where he was and where he came from, he sees a crab and follows the crab up a cliff. Roz learns from all the animals around him. 

When Roz rescues a baby goose or gosling from certain death and takes on the role of its mother, Roz finds herself more and more close to the wild animals. While the wild animals initially treat her as an outsider, Roz builds great rapport with the wild creatures through his friendly and caring nature. Roz cares for the little gosling just as much as or perhaps even more than a real mother would. 

This shows the reader the importance of not jumping into quick conclusions based on someone’s outward appearances. 

When the gosling, who is named Brightbill, sets off on a journey during winter, Roz helps the other animals survive the ceaseless snow. 

This book will be an ideal read for middle graders, that is children between the ages of eight to twelve. I believe it will be a great book to foster the love of reading when it comes to reluctant readers who might find the short and heavily illustrated chapters easy to approach and read. I believe this book is more middle grade science fiction than it is fantasy as it touches on the impact advanced technology has on the world around including the natural and human world. Now next let us look at some of the key lessons from this book.

Lessons fromThe Wild Robot

This book manages to pack in some important lessons and morals without talking dow or sounding preachy. This makes this book ideal for introducing middle grade kids to the benefit of having good values and living up to high moral standards. Now let us look at some of the key takeaways from this book that makes this book an ideal read. 

Teaches Kids the Power of Resilience 

Roz is initially not accepted by the wild community of the island. But Roz isn’t deterred by it and neither does he lose his kindness and compassion even when it’s not reciprocated. Roz depicts the importance of staying true to yourself, even when those around you tell you otherwise. The story demonstrates the importance of knowing oneself well so that unfounded accusations and unfair and unjustified sentiments don’t make an impact on one’s self esteem and self worth. This is a very important lesson that one needs to keep in mind. 

The Book Highlights the Importance of Self Awareness

Roz is clearly aware of her strengths and weaknesses and does her best to learn from her experiences and the wild world around her. She is always learning. This curiosity to learn is what helps her survive. 

The Book Explores the Impact of Technology 

Roz is a robot and therefore is not accepted as something natural. The way Roz navigates and interacts with the wild animals in a way that is non destructive goes to show that technology is not an inherently evil thing, but like most things it all depends on how it is used. This is an important lesson to learn because logically speaking technology alone doesn’t destroy anything, it all depends on the person using it and how that person chooses to use it. The book The Wild Robot explores this through Roz who is a gentle and kind being, who uses her capabilities to help others rather than harm others. 

This Story Explores Self Discovery 

The story is all about Roz trying to find himself. As he is the only survivor among the other robots who washed out on the shore, he deduces that in order to survive he must become part of the wild community. When Roz realizes that he is not accepted by the wild animals who call him monster, he affirms that he’s not a monster and lives up to that statement through her actions.

It Encourages Kids to be Empathetic 

Roz is highly empathetic despite being a robot. The animals are given anthropomorphic characteristics which makes them feel like real humans. When Roz accidentally ends up falling on a goose nest and crushing it and comes across a gosling, she adopts him and takes care of him as her son. This act conveys a message of unprecedented empathy. Empathy is all about feeling for another person and trying to put yourself in their shoes. This is demonstrated well through Roz’s character as she tries her best to understand the wild animals around her and tries to help them as much as possible. 

Demonstrates the Importance of Preserving Nature

The book is set in the wild with animals living as a part of a larger ecosystem. The story demonstrates that every creature no matter how big or small plays an important role in helping life prosper and flourish. The story has many animals involved in different parts of the story moving the plot forward. First the otters, then the crab, the stick bug, the fox and Brightbill. When Roz rescues Brightbill, Roz conveys the importance of conserving and protecting nature and wildlife. Though she himself is not really a part of the natural world, Roz does her best to help the natural world according to her own capacity. 

The Book Demonstrates the Importance of Acceptance

Delaying judgement is an important lesson that is depicted in this book. The Wild Robot or Roz is judged to be a monster and labelled as so by the wild animals. But when someone needs help, Roz shows up and does his best to learn from all the animals around her. She listens and adapts a demeanor that helps her blend in with the wild community despite not originating or being a wild creature herself. Despite being treated as an outsider, she does her best to blend in rather than fighting or resisting the unfair and unfounded judgment of others without sacrificing her real authentic self. Roz also accepts the nature of the wild animals around her and doesn’t try to change them, instead she proves that they were wrong about her and that she wasn’t a monster just because she was different from them through her kind and considerate actions. 

The Book Teaches the Importance of Learning

Roz is open to learning as much as she can from her environment. She is always trying to find out how others tick and how to adapt to her environment. Roz helps so many creatures from Fink the fox who has porcupine quills stuck all over him to the beavers who need wood to build a dam. Roz learns to camouflage and blend in with the wilderness around her. She goes on to try and speak the language of the wild creatures around her at which she succeeds. 

The Story Highlighted the Importance of Collaboration 

When the Rossum robots come looking for Roz after seeing the bonfire he made with the animals, all the animals of the wild team up to keep the evil robots at bay and to stop them taking Roz away. These scenes of the story highlights the importance of collaboration and teamwork to achieve a common goal. We live in a society that is pushing more and more towards working on your goals by yourself. While it is important to work on your goals alone, we as humans are often inspired, motivated and propelled towards positive and most unfortunately negative actions through those who we decide to associate with on a regular basis. 

Main Characters of the Story

There were a few characters that played a very important role throughout the story. Some of the characters that I loved as much as I love the characters of Aesop’s fables, such as the hare, the tortoise and the lion and the mouse, this book had a cast of its own version of lovable characters. From Chitchat, Fink, to Loudwing, some characters showed up throughout the story, playing an important role in driving the plot of the book forward. 

Fink The Fox

Fink the fox is the first one willing to even consider being friends with Roz, though it is obvious it is for his personal gain. But when Roz helps Fink to remove some porcupine quills that are stuck to him, he soon turns into one of Roz’s many friends.

Chitchat is a squirrel that soon becomes Roz’s son BrightBill’s best friend. The pair becomes inseparable, and they play and go about the island together. During the last fight where the wild animals try to save Roz from the other heartless robots who come to take him away, Chitchat bravely steps up to the occasion and fights in his own way. I thought the friendship between Chitchat the squirrel and Brightbill was quite heartfelt and profound.

Loudwing the Goose

Then comes Loudwing the old goose that helps Brightbill with assimilating into his own goosekind. While Roz is portrayed as Brightbill’s mother, the book introduced the character of Loudwing as someone who is a goose to help Brightbill who is a gosling to be a part of his own group. Loudwing also helps Roz make friends with the beavers who help Roz build a home for himself and the orphan gosling Brightbill. Loudwing names the gosling Brightbill, too, making him a memorable character of the story. 

Brightbill the Gosling (Also Known As Roz’s Son)

Brightbill is the gosling that Roz adopts. When Brightbill’s family is killed in an accident involving Roz, she decides to adopt the little gosling as her own child. The gosling grows up with Roz and learns to fly by taking Roz’s advice and observing other birds together. Roz instills confidence in Brightbill. This story goes on to show the importance of instilling confidence in our loved ones and the value of cheering them on. 

The Bear Siblings

Nettle and Thorn the bear siblings start off as arch enemies of the robot Roz. When Roz is chased by the brother and sister bears and attacked by them one of them is rescued by Roz, though he ends up with a missing leg. The mother bear, who witnesses Roz’s kindness towards her offspring despite being attacked unjustly by them, decides to offer Roz a ride back home on her back. I loved this turning point in the story, which was heartwarming.

Rockmouth the Fish

Rockmouth the grumpy fish is depicted as a grouchy old fish until the story reveals the true reason for his grumpiness as resulting from being trapped inside the dam built by the beavers, who then agree to put Rockmouth back where he came from and belonged. 

What I Loved About This Book?

I love it when books have illustrations and this book was packed with singularly beautiful black and white illustrations. These illustrations brought the story to life. The illustrations managed to capture the highlights and the most memorable parts of the story and helped me remember what happened in the story, 

The chapters of the story were super short which gave me a sense of accomplishment when I completed each chapter. I believe this is something that was great about this book and will also motivate young and more reluctant readers to feel a sense of achievement. 

I loved the fact that the language of this book was clear and accessible. The choice of language created a sense of comforting familiarity. It made me think that I was reading a modern fable.

This book came packed with some inspirational and eye-opening statements such as “from that ugliness came beauty,” which made me think and which will make the young reader who pick up this book and read to question things and to understand that without some form of discomfort there will be no growth, progress or change for the better. 

Possible Sources of Inspiration for The Wild Robot Book

The inspiration for Roz might have come from Talos, the Greek legend that involved an automaton. According to the old Greek legend Talos was a bronze man (father like an ancient day archaic robot) who protected Crete from external threats such as pirates and invaders. Talos was supposedly built by Hepahestus the ancient Greek god of invention and blacksmithing. 

The talking animals might have been inspired by Aesop stories, where most of the animals who appear in these tales have a human-like or anthropomorphic demeanor.

Mr and Mrs Beaver brought back memories of Narnia, the book The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe where there are a pair of beavers. This shows that no story is truly completely original. While it is one thing to be inspired by what came before, copying something completely and putting your name on it can’t be genuinely said to be a completely creative way to go about things and the author of this book has struck the balance well when it came to it. 

Regardless of these might or might not being possible sources of inspiration and being entirely based on speculation and observation, this book has been incredible read and the characters have their own merit and uniqueness despite the fact that they might perhaps have been inspired by popular and much loved stories that came before them from antiquity to the modern age. 

About the Author of The Wild Robot Book

The idea of The Wild Robot was tinkered with for about two years by the author who reveals this in the acknowledgement section of the book. The author Peter Brown says that he had to isolate himself from friends and family to a large extent. 

Peter Brown is now a New York Times Best Selling Author and has written more adventures including The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects. I am yet to read these, but I would like to rate this book a five plus stars as it helped me think, despite not falling into the ideal target audience of this book. I believe all the self help books written for adults, at least most of the ones I have read pale in comparison when it comes to the lessons that can be extracted from this book The Wild Robot, which is a read which I believe is worth checking out.