Remasters, remakes, spinoffs, and sequels are par for the course right now. Movie series laying dormant for decades are getting rebooted, and games you’ve never heard of are having their polygons smoothed for a chance at another lease on life. Some reimaginings of IPs from the past are a little more inventive though, such as the recent horror take on Winnie the Pooh. Oh, and a children’s book inspired by the events of Ridley Scott’sAlien.
You can read that last sentence as much as you like, you did read it right the first time and it isn’t going to magically change into something that makes a little more sense. The iconic sci-fi horror movie from 1979 is being turned into a book exclusively for children. Sure, adults can read it too, but the entire object of this new book, dubbed A Is for Alien: An ABC Book, is that it uses Ripley and other characters and items from the Alien movies to help teach little ones to read.
Created as a part of the Little Golden Book collection, this isn’t even a case of someone having a little fun with a franchise it isn’t officially affiliated with. This is an official arm of the Alien tree made in conjunction with 20th Century Studios. Releasing on July 26, 2025, you can pre-order your copy of A Is For Alien right now at Penguin Random House through the link below. Just $5.99, a bargain whether you have kids who can read already or not.
A Is for Alien: An ABC Book
A Is For Alien is exactly what it sounds like. An alphabet book based on the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, its pages filled with references utilized in a way that will help children learn how to read.
On the cover, you’ll find an animated Ripley holding her cat Jonesy with a Xenomorph bearing down on them. None of the letters after A have been revealed, but I’m assuming that’s R, J, and X covered. N will probably be for Nostromo, and I’m on the fence as to whether C will be for Chestburtser or not. It seems like the obvious pick, but can a recreation of the iconic scene, even in cartoon form, be included in the pages of a children’s book?
The Little Golden Books collection is hundreds of titles strong, and while it has worked with 20th Century Studios in the past, A Is For Alien may well be the most out-there idea it has had so far. Even stranger than a prior book based on The Planet of the Apes. Once the reader is done with their Alien-based alphabet, I think I may need another book detailing how to explain to them that they won’t be able to watch the movies on which the book is based for at least another decade.
