The Starman and Me by Sharon Cohen (author) (UK edition)

Highly commended for the Branford Boase Award 2018, shortlisted for the Essex Book Awards 2018, the East Sussex Children’s Book Awards 2019 and nominated for the Northern Ireland Book Award 2019

He wasn’t an alien, I was sure of that. It was more like he’d walked in through an ancient door from the past … except he was here, in my bedroom and his misty forest was somewhere real on Planet Earth.

Twelve-year-old Kofi first spots the prehistoric human on a supermarket roundabout. He is small and dark and curled into a tight ball. His name is Rorty Thrutch and he has zero memory of how he ended up in the unexceptional village of Bradborough, or why he’s being hunted…

Kofi soon finds out that Rorty can do amazing things. He can copy, paste and delete objects, using only the power of his mind. This is the discovery of the century and mad, greedy scientists will stop at nothing to track him down.

Kofi and best friend Janie are on a mission. Not only must they protect Rorty, but they have to find his missing girlfriend Pogsy Blue, too. Our prehistoric ancestors have crashed headlong into the 21st century and time is running out to save them…

THE STARMAN AND ME explores where we have come from and where we are moving to – it’s about the magic of DNA, the power of identity, and the importance of caring for each other.