First published in 2017 in Great Britain by Barrington Stoke Ltd
18 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7LP
www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
This 4u2read edition based on Sammy and the Starman (Barrington Stoke, 2006)
Text © 2017 Anne Cassidy
Illustrations © 2006 Tony Ross
The moral right of Anne Cassidy and Tony Ross to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in any part in any form without the written permission of the publisher
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request
ISBN: 978-1-78112-727-8
Printed in China by Leo
Contents 1 Post 342 1 2 The Letters to Plar 6 3 The Starman 11 4 Jax 18 5 The Planet Plar 27 6 The Star Wars Figure 35 7 Rocket Rescue 41 8 A Letter from Space 52
Chapter 1 Post 342
When Sammy Parker saw the rocket on the grass in the park he knew it was from another planet.
Sammy stood still for a moment. What had he found? He looked up in case there was a spaceship there that had dropped something. But there was only the sun, shining in the empty blue sky.
Sammy bent down and looked at the rocket. It was made of silver metal with odd lines running down it and some parts of it were
1
black and sooty. It was the shape of a fat drain pipe.
Sammy put his hands under the rocket and picked it up. It was light and he felt a kind of warm glow coming from it. It was a bit like picking up the kettle after Dad had made a mug of tea.
Just then Sammy heard the sound of someone wheezing and panting. Dennis Frogman from next door.
“What you doing?” Dennis shouted.
Dennis had red hair which stuck up as if he’d just seen a ghost and his mouth always seemed to be open. He was not Sammy’s favourite person.
“I found this,” Sammy said.
“Let me see,” Dennis said, and he grabbed the rocket out of Sammy’s hands.
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Sammy took off his glasses and cleaned them on his T-shirt. Dennis never asked for things. He just took what he wanted.
Dennis looked at the rocket for a few moments. He held it up to the sun and screwed his eyes up to see it better. Then, without warning, Dennis tossed the rocket into the air.
“No!” Sammy shouted.
The rocket bounced onto the grass.
“It’s a load of old rubbish,” Dennis said, and he walked away.
Sammy rushed over and picked up the rocket. He held it gently in his arms as he left the park and walked along the street. He felt as if he were carrying something very delicate, like his gran’s china teapot.
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When he was near home he looked down at the rocket and saw some letters and numbers on it –
POST 342.
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