Ever since our son was diagnosed with very high functioning Asperger's less than a year ago, we have included him in discussions and reading about the syndrome. Many kids with Asperger's, our son included, gain comfort with their diagnosis by approaching it with intellectual curiosity. However, there's nothing like a fun story with lots of social skills situations to illustrate some of the challenges people with Asperger's may face and open up discussion possibilities. "Of Mice and Aliens," (the title makes Steinbeck fan, Mom, giggle)is a gently written story that includes lot of issues that are important to children with and without Asperger's syndrome. My son negotiated an extended bedtime so we could finish the book in one sitting. Once finished, he wrote his name in the book, put in in his school backpack and announced that he planned to share it with his teacher and discuss her using it in class to talk about his Asperger's with his classmates. "I'm like two of the characters in the book: Ben AND Zeke (the alien)--a little of each!" We found the book has a nice balance to the challenges and positive side of Asperger's. Some of the Australian/British words (for example, "ring" for the verb, "telephone") just gave us an opportunity to talk about different meanings of words and how easy it is to be misunderstood. We are ordering Hoopmann's other 2 books in the series and look forward to more.