The Kid Who Came from Space cover art

The Kid Who Came from Space

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Kid Who Came from Space

By: Ross Welford
Narrated by: Chris Coxon, Sarah Ovens
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The stunning new 10+ story from the bestselling and award-winning author of TIME TRAVELLING WITH A HAMSTER, for anyone who loved the humour of WALL-E, the action of STAR WARS and the deeply touching emotion of ET.

A small village in the wilds of Northumberland is rocked by the disappearance of twelve-year-old Tammy. Only her twin brother, Ethan, knows she is safe – and the extraordinary truth of where she is. It is a secret he must keep, or risk never seeing her again.

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to give up.

Together with his friend Iggy and the mysterious (and very hairy) Hellyann, Ethan teams up with a spaceship called Philip, and Suzy the trained chicken, for a nail-biting chase to get his sister back… that will take him further than anyone has ever been before.

A remarkable story of sibling connection, friendship and interstellar adventure from the author Kiran Millwood Hargrave called “one of my favourite middle grade writers”.

©2020 Ross Welford (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Into the Sideways World cover art
When We Got Lost in Dreamland cover art
The Monkey Who Fell from the Future cover art
The 1,000-Year-Old Boy cover art
What Not to Do If You Turn Invisible cover art
Ross Welford Audio Collection cover art
The Star Outside My Window cover art
Thursday’s Child cover art
Kid Normal cover art
The World’s Worst Monsters cover art
Lucas cover art
The Goldfish Boy cover art
The Taylor Turbochaser cover art
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates cover art
Vi Spy cover art
Candyfloss cover art

Critic reviews

"Original, amusing and gripping. Welford is a remarkably entertaining storyteller" Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week

"Ross Welford is superb. This tense, rip-roaring, witty adventure is underpinned by a moving examination of love and loyalty" Daily Mail

"A masterclass in children's storytelling" Waterstones.com, Best Books to Look Out For in 2020

“Ross Welford is superb at blending the raw emotion of troubled children with other-worldly imaginative, fantasy powers (in) this tense, rip-roaring, witty adventure.” The Daily Mail

Praise for TIME TRAVELLING WITH A HAMSTER:

‘The gripping suspense truly makes time fly… the book’s heart and humour are hard to resist.’ Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

“Extremely clever and totally engaging.” The Irish Times

“Intelligent, well crafted and impressive.” Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times

‘Touching, silly and exciting by turns, this thrilling little book is an inventive take on time travel for children. Sure to be a hit with fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder… an unforgettable, madcap story from a bright new talent in Children’s fiction.’ Waterstones

“A touching tale of family, grief and love.” Daily Express

‘With intriguing twists from start to finish, this story is a real roller coaster of emotions. It warmed my heart and filled my head with wonder! A fast, funny and really satisfying read that sparks your imagination.’ Joseph, 10

What listeners say about The Kid Who Came from Space

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely brilliant

One of the best Children's books I've read in a long time. Reading this with my class. Engaging, funny, exciting and touching.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another excellent story from Ross Welford.

Loved it. This story is intended for older children but could be equally enjoyed by adults. I loved the narration and found it quite emotional, especially when Ethan burst into his parents' pub to tell them his twin sister was missing. I had tears rolling down my face at that point as I imagined the situation. I also liked the short chapters, which encouraged me to listen to 'just another chapter', which often turned into another two or three chapters, as I was eager to find out what would happen next. I would definitely recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Sci-fi story for pre-teens

Sci-fi alien story for pre-teens, doesn't talk down to the reader.

3.5 stars

I've read every Ross Welford book, in awe at the genius of some of his concepts and execution. Some of my favourite novels for the age group. This might be my least favourite though.

It's the first of his I've read as an audiobook, though the format suited the narration and flow of the story, it was a straightforward enough story with just a couple of changes in storyteller that didn't confuse. Though I did lose concentration a few times, distracted from the plot.

A twin sister goes missing, and her brother finds out what's happened to her. It may be something surprising and totally out of his comfort zone, but he knows he's got to try and get her back.

Not wanting to give too much away here, though the title gives its own clues. Ethan is a slightly unusual 'hero' - very flawed, the kind of person who makes excuses for having underachieved, never putting in everything he's able to. It's the kind of character you want to see stretch and grow over the course of a book. The second narrator, Hellyann, gives some fascinating perspective on another culture, and will set many young minds pondering on human/animal rights, and related themes.

What felt fairly tight to start with did become quite madcap at times, which may have been why I felt distracted in the middle chapters. Definitely some scenes and images stick in the mind, and the family/friendship theme is a strong one.

This does expect a reader to keep up, it doesn't simplify issues or sugarcoat some quite shocking ideas/mental images, like all Welford's books. But it is also entertaining and a great introduction to a wide-ranging genre.

For ages 10-14. With thanks to Newbooks for providing a sample Audible copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!