Breaking News: Alien Alert [Hardcover]

Bears in space! The bears fromBreaking News: Bear AlertandBears to the Rescueare back, and this time they're extraterrestrial.

When a UFO beams up Baby Bear and abducts the family, the human world goes crazy. Hilarity and chaos ensue as scouts, scientists, street vendors, and the mayor try to put their own spin on the story. Intrepid but bumbling reporter Chad Newsworthy covers it all, searching for the truth: Why did aliens snatch up these animals? (Hint: It's someone special's birthday!)In space, no one can hear you party. Punctuating his story with special news reports complete with crawl feeds, Biedrzycki returns to the form that served him so well inBear Alert(2014) andBears to the Rescue(2016). Here, our three bear heroes find themselves unexpectedly sucked into a UFO along with a strange assortment of wildlife as well as farm and zoo animals. The action then cuts between the experiences of the startled creatures and the frenzied Channel 3 News reports for the people back on Earth. When at last the aliens land and discharge their guests, it becomes clear that these space denizens are more akin to Close Encounters of the Third Kind folks than Independence Day meanies: All the disembarking creatures sport goody bags from a birthday party that was truly out of this world (as memorialized on the rear endpapers). Rather surprisingly, the TV-news format feels fresh as ever, and Biedrzycki knows how to use its storytelling tropes to the book's best advantage. His Adobe Photoshop illustrations keep the action hopping and include such contemporary touches as smartphones and chyrons even as old-fashioned test patterns and a predigital TV (with cable box atop) make an occasional appearance. Considering the real-world 24-hour news cycle, these ursine antics amid the stars make for oddly comforting reading. 
—Kirkus Reviews


Chad Newsworthy and the News 3 crew fromBear Alert(2014) andBears tló(