Have Space Suit—Will Travel
Cover of the first edition
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| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Heinlein juveniles |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Scribner's |
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Publication date
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1958 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Preceded by | Citizen of the Galaxy |
Have Space Suit—Will Travel is a science fiction novel for young readers by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialised in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (August, September, October 1958) and published by Scribner's in hardcover in 1958. It is the last of the Heinlein juveniles.
Heinlein made use of his engineering expertise to add realistic details to the story; for a time during World War II, he was a civilian aeronautics engineer working at a laboratory where pressure suits were being developed for use at high altitudes.
Have Space Suit—Will Travel was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1959. It also won the Sequoyah Children's Book Award for 1961.
Clifford "Kip" Russell, enters an advertising jingle writing contest, hoping to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Moon. He instead gets a used space suit. Kip puts the suit (which he dubs "Oscar") back into working condition.
Kip reluctantly decides to return his space suit for a cash prize to help pay for college, but puts it on for one last walk. As he idly broadcasts on his shortwave radio, someone identifying herself as "Peewee" answers and requests a homing signal. He is shocked when a flying saucer lands practically on top of him. A young girl (Peewee) and an alien being (the "Mother Thing") flee from it, but all three are quickly captured and taken to the Moon.
Their kidnapper ("Wormface") is a horrible-looking creature who contemptuously refers to all others as "animals". Wormface has two human flunkies who assisted him in initially capturing the Mother Thing and Peewee, a preteen genius and the daughter of an eminent scientist. The Mother Thing speaks like birdsong, with a few musical notations . Kip and Peewee have no trouble understanding her.
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