ALA Booklist

In an average American living room of 1938, folks gather around the radio for a night's entertainment, when there's a new bulletin: Aliens are coming! Orson Welles' infamous Halloween trick, his October 30 broadcast of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, is greatly excerpted and put together with quirky, imaginative artwork that reinforces the fantasy. McCarthy sets the scene in a preface, ostensibly delivered by a radio commentator, and clearly identifies the speakers in colored type before each quote. Using a 1930's art style, and a palette comprising mostly muted grays and reds, McCarthy evokes an era gone by, at the same time creating a cozy nostalgia. Even somewhat older, media savvy kids, who may view the gullibility of the characters with a disdainful eye, will be disarmed by the depictions of panicked faces and slimy Martians, eyes on stalks, that appear amid eerie red light. An abrupt ending notwithstanding, this is packed with age-appropriate thrills and scares. A lengthy author's note includes necessary background on both figures.

School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 3-6-In this picture-book account of the 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles's adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel, the author employs several creative methods to transport readers back to the heyday of radio. She leads into the story with a punchy introduction to the period, which is delivered in the form of a speech bubble by a smiling radio announcer. From there, black-and-white illustrations depict a family listening to an ordinary broadcast, which is interrupted by reports of an alien invasion. For the rest of the book, events described on the radio appear in lurid color illustrations reminiscent of old science-fiction magazines, while events in the real world remain in black and white. Excerpts from the actual radio play describe a vicious extraterrestrial attack, while the text describes the pandemonium ensuing outside the radio station and across the country. In the end, McCarthy reveals that the invasion was just a story, and an author's note gives a more detailed account of the play's creation and broadcast. In the spirit of the original, the author does not reveal the fact that the broadcast was actually a play until the end. This conceit would make the book a great read-aloud to introduce a unit on the 1930s. The interplay between the text of the play and the author's description of actual events is effective, and the illustrations are exaggerated and funny. A unique treatment of a fascinating topic, and sure to have wide appeal.-Rachael Vilmar, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, GA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In an era of fake news, reality shows and terror alerts on simultaneous channels, this volume reminds readers of the panic that greeted Orson Welles's unique radio hoax of Oct. 30, 1938. McCarthy (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Show Dog) alternates black-and-white illustrations, representing ordinary life, with full-color images from listeners' colorful imaginations. Initially, two parents and their children sit quietly in a living room, picturing "Ramón Raquello and his orchestra, playing a tango" in an aptly lurid purple cloud. Suddenly a CBS announcer interrupts and the violet backdrop gives way to a sulfurous hue. The family looks distressed; explosions have been observed on Mars, and a "flaming object, believed to be a meteorite," has fallen in Grovers Mill, N.J. "Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow," reports newscaster Carl Phillips. In fire-and-brimstone shades, McCarthy suggests how frightened Americans trusted Phillips and envisioned sluglike, drooling creatures emerging from a flying saucer. Yellow, sci-fi–horror typeface demands, "Was this the end of the world?" while duotone panels picture stampeding citizens and traffic jams; policemen at the supposed crash site "find an empty field." McCarthy reports the unfolding situation, but her imprecise painting style doesn't allow for close detail or multiple perspectives. The bleary brushstrokes are atmospheric but unsuited to quick cinematic cuts between reality and fantasy; the high-anxiety spreads seem too spacious and unpopulated to be convincing. McCarthy nevertheless recalls a startling incident, and the listeners' naïve responses have an odd, unfunny resonance in light of today's moment-by-moment media hype. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

Horn Book

This book is about the 1938 radio play that convinced many listeners there was a real alien invasion. Black-and-white paintings in McCarthy's simple broad-brush style show families gathered around the radio; the broadcast itself is depicted in color. The efficient narrative line touches on the ensuing real-life panic, and an author's note describes later broadcasts of the play that provoked similar reactions. Bib.

Kirkus Reviews

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)