The True Meaning of Smekday facts for kids
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| Author | Adam Rex |
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| Cover artist | Adam Rex |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Disney Hyperion |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 423 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7868-4900-0 |
| OCLC | 156912803 |
| LC Class | PZ7.R32865 Tr 2007 |
| Followed by | Smek for President! |
The True Meaning of Smekday is an exciting adventure book written by Adam Rex in 2007. It was even praised by The New York Times! This popular story was later made into a 2015 animated movie called Home by DreamWorks Animation.
Adam Rex also wrote a second book in the series, Smek for President!, which came out in 2015. The movie Home changed a lot from the books. After the movie, a TV show called Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh started in 2016. You can also listen to The True Meaning of Smekday as an audiobook, read by Bahni Turpin, released in 2011.
Contents
The Story of Smekday
This book is told by a 12-year-old girl named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci. She writes her story as an essay for a school contest. This essay is meant to be put in a time capsule. It will be opened 100 years in the future!
Tip's Alien Adventure
The story begins when Tip is 11 years old. Her mom is taken away by aliens called the Boov. On Christmas Eve, many Boov ships arrive on Earth. They use their amazing technology to take over without any fighting. The Boov then rename Earth "Smekland" and Christmas "Smekday." They do this to honor their leader, Captain Smek.
The Boov decide that all humans must move to Florida. This day is called "Moving Day." But Tip manages to avoid being moved by the Boov. Instead, she drives her family car towards Florida. She wants to find her mom.
Meeting a Boov Friend
Tip's car breaks down on her journey. She then meets a Boov mechanic who is on the run. This Boov calls himself J.Lo, thinking it's a common Earth name. Tip doesn't want to, but she teams up with J.Lo. She learns that J.Lo is running from his own kind. He accidentally sent a strong signal into space. This signal told the Gorg, a very mean alien race, where Earth was. The Gorg had already taken over the Boov's home planet.
Journey Across the Country
Tip, her cat Pig, and J.Lo travel across the United States. They look for Tip's mom in Florida. They visit "Happy Mouse Kingdom" but don't find her. Their journey continues west to Roswell, New Mexico and Arizona.
In Arizona, Tip and J.Lo meet Chief Shouting Bear. He is a wise old junk dealer. Together, they must stop a politician named Dan Landry. He is trying to make a deal with the Gorg, but it's a terrible plan. Tip realizes she must find her own way to defeat the powerful Gorg. She saves both humans and the Boov from danger.
More Smekday Stories
The next book in the series is called Smek for President!. It came out in 2015. In this story, Tip and J.Lo go on a summer trip to New Boovworld. J.Lo hopes to get a pardon from Captain Smek. But instead, he gets caught up in Smek's campaign to become High Boov. The Boov have started to use human-style politics!
The Smekday Movie
How Home Was Made
In 2008, DreamWorks Animation decided to make The True Meaning of Smekday into an animated movie. Adam Rex, the author, shared on Twitter in 2011 that DreamWorks was still planning the film.
In 2012, it was announced that Tim Johnson would direct the movie. Famous singers and actors Rihanna and Jim Parsons would voice the main characters. The movie was first called Happy Smekday!, but later changed to Home. It was released on March 27, 2015, and earned a lot of money worldwide.
Movie Changes from the Book
The movie Home changed many things from the book. For example, the alien character J.Lo was renamed "Oh" in the film. This was because of legal reasons involving trademarks. Even though the actress Jennifer Lopez (who voiced Tip's mom in the movie) thought it was cool that an alien was named after her, the name had to be changed.
The movie also changed the plot a lot. In the film, the Boov move all humans to Australia. This is different from the book, where much of the story happens in Florida, Arizona, and New Mexico. Important characters from the book, like Dan Landry and Chief Shouting Bear, were not in the movie. The way the Boov and Gorg conflict was solved was also very different. The movie aimed to be more kid-friendly and simpler than the book.
After the movie, an animated TV show called Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh was made. It started on Netflix in July 2016.
The Smekday Website
When the book was first published in 2007, Adam Rex created a special website. It pretended to be from the National Time Capsule Project. The website said it was collecting historical records about the Boov invasion. For example, it had a funny "training video" made by the Boov. In the video, the Boov explained their new calendar and holidays. These new holidays included Smekday, Smeksgiving, and Boov Passover.
