Cover Reveal: A Spaceman Returns and We Talk with Randy Cecil About Why

“Quiet, unassuming, delightful, funny, and with just enough science fiction in there, I’m just gonna say it: I love this book. You know who else is going to love this book? Kids. All of them. Without question.”

On May 31, 2024, I wrote those words about a picture book that had utterly charmed me. In that same review I concluded by calling it, “A contemporary classic (and I don’t use that term lightly) this is a little bit of interstellar storytelling that is bound to remain in your brain long after you’ve closed its cover. Sublime.”

The book in question was Spaceman by Randy Cecil. And 2024 turned out to be a particularly good year for science fiction (remember that a science fiction middle grade would win a Newbery Award later that January). I’d enjoyed books by Mr. Cecil before but, for me there was something special about the story of this little tiny guy traversing our world and finding it so utterly sublime.

Today, I am delighted beyond measure to reveal the brand new cover of a Spaceman SEQUEL! Spaceman: The Return will be on shelves everywhere June 8, 2027. But before I show this cover to you, I want to tell you the plot, and I want to talk to Randy Cecil himself a little about these books and this series.

From the publisher:

Where on Earth have you been, Spaceman? New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Randy Cecil proves, yet again, that life on this planet is rare and special indeed, not least with a loyal, tail-wagging friend by your side.

With a heart the size of the cosmos and wry humor to spare, this gentle sequel to the award-winning The Spaceman, which TheWall Street Journal deemed an “absolute sweetie of a picture book,” reunites bookish earthlings with a certain beloved alien—and not a moment too soon. With a replacement ship en route to retrieve him, the tiny spaceman is steeling himself to depart our beautiful planet and return to his dry, dusty duties. He wants nothing more than to stay. He’ll miss his wondrous adoptive home with its fantastical beasts, enormous fruits, and swimming rocks, but his fate, it seems, lies elsewhere. Unless? Unless a cherished friend should bound in and something extraordinary happens. Young sci-fi and fantasy fans will applaud the triumphant return of a hero with a knack for friendship who reminds us that everything we need—and could ever need—is right before our eyes.

And now, from the man himself:

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Betsy Bird: Randy! What an utter delight it is getting a chance to talk to you today. SPACEMAN was one of those quiet, unassuming little titles that pretty much made anyone who ever looked at it happy. That said, never in a hundred years would I have predicted that it would garner a sequel. Have you done many sequels before? Why did this particular picture book rate one?

Randy Cecil: Hi Betsy! Thanks so much for having me here! Technically, this is the first sequel I have ever written. But more often than not, I have followed a book I have written with a sort of companion book. I think I just find it difficult to leave these newly discovered universes behind when they still seem to have so much unexplored potential. But in this instance, a sequel seemed like a better fit. And in many ways, I have come to think of the two books almost as two halves of one whole.

BB: Having read it, I have to agree. You know, I never really got a chance to ask you questions when the first book came out, and I feel like this would be a missed opportunity if I didn’t at least try to take a stab at it. If you could, can you tell us a little bit about how you decided on the “look” of your tiny alien? With his Muppet-like eyeballs and orange skin, he’s remarkably appealing. Did you hit on what he would resemble right away or did it take a bit of trial and error?

Randy: I don’t think he ever underwent any dramatic physical changes. I always knew he needed to be wearing a spacesuit, of course. And I knew he needed large, expressive eyes because his eyes do so much of the storytelling. Actually, I didn’t know he was tiny until I was a few pages into my first draft.  And I didn’t know he was orange until just before I started the final paintings. I tend to not think about color at all while I’m sketching and writing, and then sort out all the colors for the book together.

BB: I always thought he was a noble little fellow, and that’s born out by his story here. Any accident or catastrophe that happens to him just makes him more and more determined to be filled with awe for this world of ours. He’s also written entirely in the first person. Why was that the best possible way to tell his tale? 

Randy: The Spaceman was originally conceived as a wordless book. I was really happy with it except for one thing— it seemed impossible to convey his backstory through pictures alone. And his backstory seemed essential to understanding him. So, I tried adding words in my usual (3rd person) way. But because the pictures already told so much of the story, the words felt redundant and lifeless. So, I added the Spaceman book dummy to one of my piles of unresolved papers and almost forgot about it. But eventually something got me to dig it up again and try it out in first person. I was happy with how it worked right away. It allowed me to clarify the parts of the story that needed it, and really just have a lot of fun with the rest.

BB: Have you received any child feedback to the first book? I imagine they must be completely taken with him. I wouldn’t mind a little Spaceman plushie of my own, actually.

Randy: I don’t do school visits or any of that kind of thing, so I actually don’t hear a lot of reactions to my books. But I do 100% support the idea of a Spaceman plushie.

BB: Excellent. Glad we’re on the same page with that. Finally, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

Randy: I have been getting increasingly into ceramics the last few years, and right now I’m busy getting a bunch of work together for a small group show in the garden at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. The show opens in early December, and my piece will include lots of turtles and maybe a few crocodiles.

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Blast, the man’s just as charming as his books.

Well, there’s nothing more for it then. Take a gander, if you will, at the latest Spaceman title to hit our shelves!

Spaceman: The Return will be out, as I mentioned before, June 8, 2027. Huge thanks to Randy for connecting with me about his origins, and thanks too to Cara Broel and the team at Candlewick for allowing me the chance to do this reveal. Happy spacemanning, everyone!

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2027, Cover Reveal, Interviews