The Unlikely Diary of Prince Kal The Alien

Prince Kal is a very self-important young alien. He accidentally climbed into his tutor’s Anywhere Cabinet, a magical transportation device, with his two-tailed odoriferous dog-like pet and has ended up on Planet Earth. Luckily for Prince Kal, because he is royal, he was endowed with the speak-easy spell which enables him to understand and speak any language. Will Kal end up back home on Planet Imaginaria? And what havoc will he have caused at home and on earth in the meantime?

The most interesting part of Welford’s very humorous creation is the spotlight he is able to shine on the processes of foster care. This elevates the story from humorous caper to something with more depth. The reader is made aware through foster care reports and emails of how precarious Prince Kal’s foster placement is.

His foster parents, Debbie and George, and foster sister, Noa, are loving and caring and supportive of what they at first think are the detailed imaginings of a very disturbed child. The foster care system is not so tolerant or flexible. Social workers do not come off well in this narrative, which may be very amusing and affirming to those with experience of the care system. All children will be swept away by Kal’s beguiling nature. Harry Briggs’s illustrations add to the humour.