Black Hole Radio - Bilaluna is a fun Sci-Fi chapter book for young readers. You’ll want to read the first book but despite being book two in the series, readers will enjoy it without having read the first one.
In this book, Hawk and Matt befriend a girl from their school who felt like she didn’t fit in with the other kids. We find out that Celeste has Asperger’s but Hawk likes her for who she is. The three journey through space where they meet a new species and work together to help them build a stronger world. In all, there are lots of great lessons woven into the story.
Spoiler: Like book one, one of the characters is gifted a power by the aliens. That was my only disappointment in the book as I wish the gift didn’t imply that people who have Asperger’s need to be fixed. However, I’m glad to see people with disabilities being represented. ( )

This book starts right after the end of Black Hole Radio. Fifth-graders Hawk and Matt are back home on Earth and there’s a new student at school: a girl named Celeste. Hawk invites Celeste to join him and Matt in their space club, and before long the Black Hole Radio has taken the three on a new adventure far across space.

I really enjoyed the addition of a girl who has an interest in science, and I liked how she said she would tell her own story. It really gave some valuable insights into a different viewpoint: that of someone living with Asperger syndrome.

The story contained great lessons about acceptance and friendship, as so well stated in Hawk’s view of the new girl early on: “…she may be shy and doesn’t like to make eye contact. What’s so different about that?” and in his thoughts toward the end of the story: “…we’re friends and good friends accept you for who you are”.

There were plenty of mini-lessons on science topics, too, like space and gravity, and insects and their interdependence with their environments. I even learned something I hadn’t known before about the relation of gravity to how fast time passes; a “wow” learning moment for me!

Overall, I think this story is even better than the first book. It’s a wonderfully entertaining read with gentle lessons for its intended readers, all wrapped up in a fantastic adventure.

(Read November 2021) ( )

Black Hole Radio: Bilaluna is an adventure tale of friends Matt, Hawk and new kid Celeste as they explore the galaxy with the help of their worm-hole travelling transistor radio.

The book is educational in discussing the role various bugs/insects contribute and function, as well as explaining the problems introduced to the ecosystem when they are eliminated through the use of pesticides. The plot tends to ramble a bit without a clear course at the beginning but finds its footing once the author gets the character/premise introduction out of the way.

Celeste has Asperger Syndrome and takes on the narrative for most of the book in an attempt to educate others about her difficulties. As a woman with Aspergers, while I appreciate the inclusion and attempt at educating the challenges, it does tend to read a bit like a pamphlet for Autism Speaks at times when it calls out every single thing she does/feels in an objective/clinical way.

In my opinion/preference, the best parts are when Celeste rubs her worry stone or shows her inner conflict about touching people, as it provides a more first-person understanding. As the narrative is first-person, this is more appropriate than calling out/diagnosing every symptom or trait, as it reduces a person to parts/behaviours and not as a whole being with challenges (in my humble opinion).

Technically, it was well-edited, appropriate for children, and enjoyable “edutainment.” ( )

Black Hole Radio - Bilaluna by Ann Birdgenaw
Headline: A Big Little Book
At first, I thought, “Oh no. I’m stuck in a YA book, and this will be so boring.” But, just like the story itself, I was soon sucked into a wormhole through space and time, and my foreboding disappeared. Suddenly, I was nine years old again, feeling like I was reading a Hardy Boys mystery, and remembering those youthful, wonderfully awkward, and confusing, feelings of attraction to a girl, while Identifying with Hawk, who seems like such a cool and together kid, the very essence of what I was not at that age but wanted to be.
Then I looked around and realized I had been transported to another planet, surrounded by alien creatures, not knowing if I would be safe. This lent a satisfying tension to the story. All the while I was being taught things, learning without realizing it. This planet was facing similar environmental challenges to our own and in wonderfully accessible story form I was discovering the importance of pollination, the critical role of insects in replenishing the soil, the benefits of clean hydroelectric power, an application of Einstein’s theory of relativity and about what a light year is, just to name a few.
I was also learning about bullying, about how not to treat others, and about how to accept and embrace people who are different from me, rather than automatically rejecting them. I was also brought into the experience of persons with Asperger’s syndrome, seeing nthrough their eyes, feeling through their skin, now recognizing such experiences as different from mine, but not better or worse than me.
When I returned to Earth, days in space time but only minutes in Earth time, I wrote this review, and it came so easily. Isn’t it interesting, the reviews of good books generally do go easily because they inspire. This book, only 79 pages long, was of that elk, a Great Big Little Book filled with marvelous values and wonderful lessons that I would want my children have. I highly recommend Black Hole Radio - Bilaluna and give special kudos to Ann Birdgenaw for adding kindness and compassion to a world that often sorely lacks both. Both young and old can benefit from considering her message.
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