Disaster Diaries: Aliens! by R. McGeddon, illustrated by Jamie Littler

I ended up with the second in the series when I went to sample this, but I think it's fine. Sam, Arty, and Emmie have saved their town from a recent zombie infestation but there's no time to rest because another crisis is at hand!

So, meet the three friends. Arty is smart - and always hungry. Emmie is the tough one, ready to tackle any danger, probably with fists flailing and feet kicking. Sam is average - average awesome that is! Smart, handsome, wait who's telling this story? The three friends are "celebrating" Arty's birthday with lame and brain-deadening codes and a visit to the observatory when thankfully something more interesting happens - an alien invasion!

At first, the three aren't sure what to think and everyone in town is excited. Who wouldn't like cute little aliens? Until they vaporize the mayor. Now, he wasn't much of a mayor but that can hardly be called "friendly" can it? It's up to the three to save their town - and the earth - yet again.

Funny black and white cartoons, lists of supplies and hints for surviving an alien invasion, and other helpful remarks break up the text. This is peculiarly British humor with lots of jokes ranging from rude to crude, borderline language, and a cheerful indifference to exploded aliens, vaporized humans, and other casualties. I don't have a lot of kids interested in this type of British humor (or allowed to read it) so I tend to restrict what I buy in this area. This was funny, but I'd have to limit which kids I recommend it to.

Verdict: Fans of Andy Griffiths and other slapstick and rude humor books will gleefully devour this new series, but I probably won't invest in it.

ISBN: 9781250090881; Published 2016 by Macmillan; Borrowed from another library in my consortium