Black Hole Radio is fun and well-paced sci-fi read for kids who like chapter books. For those who aren’t sure about choosing from the sci-fi genre, it incorporates the right amount of sci-fi tech and terminology so you believe you’re on another planet but not too much that it takes you out of the story. And, it has just enough child-friendly slang and funny names to elicit snickers from young readers. Enjoy the journey! ( )

This imaginative sci-fi story takes 5th-graders Hawk and Matt on a fun adventure far across space via, of all things, an old radio.

Elements I liked:
I loved the premise of an old radio opening a wormhole to space. I would love to have discovered such a thing! The story’s descriptions are vivid, and the storytelling is entertaining and proceeds at a good pace. Elegantly and without getting preachy, the story imparts its messages of peace, friendship, and non-violent resolutions to conflict. The scattered illustrations perfectly fit and helped flesh out the descriptions of the aliens. The glossary of terms at the end is a great addition!

Elements I struggled with:
Just something I noticed…there’s a distinct scarcity of female characters in this story. As a female with a long-time interest in space and science, I remember being frustrated as a kid with the scarcity of female characters getting to be part of science/space adventures. This story might offer science-loving girls the same frustration. If the radio is involved in further adventures, perhaps some girls could also be involved.

Overall:
This book seems well-suited to upper-elementary/middle-grade readers and younger. It’s an easy, fast read with lots of adventure and humor that many children will appreciate. An entertaining read!

(Read July 2021) ( )