The Ugly Little Boy and the Widget, the Wadget, and Boff

by Theodore Sturgeon, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg

Book Overview

Plucked out of the past and transported forty thousand years into the future, a Neanderthal child discovers that human nature has remained unchanged, in an expanded version of an original Asimov story... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812559665
• ISBN13: 9780812559668
• Release Date: June 1989
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

A rather heart-rending story about a boy from another time.

Two of our most famous sci-fi authors, Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg got together to produce a great "what if" story exploring how technology of a make-believe 21st-century lab could go far enough to bring right back a child from 40,000 years ago to live with a caregiver in a bubble. Miss Fellowes, who had been hired under very strict regulations to watch the prehistoric boy, had a kind of a sharp tongue and sometimes acted like a demented soccer mom, especially when nosey scientists and the media eagerly flocked over to gawk at the kid and make a big fuss over him. But she had fallen into love with the strange-looking Neandertal child and thus would never want to part with him. The little boy named "Timmie" had turned out to be such a charming little angel in spite of his "unsightly" prehistoric appearance. And he had also ended up facing a very uncertain fate, especially with a scientist who brought him over, yet didn't intend to keep him forever, an overzealous child advocate who screamed bloody "child abuse", and a worried nurse who feared that he wouldn't survive in a prehistoric environment after a few years of learning to read and eat with a fork. In addition to Timmie's heartwarming adventure in the modern times, we also get glimpses of the prehistoric tribe that he had left behind, which was now facing its own dangers forty thousand years back.

What a Sci Fi literary Duo!

"A remarkably moving and chilling tale of what happens when past and present collide..." A charming and nostalgic trip into the past when SciFi really had a plot...

A very breathtaking book

"The Ugly Little Boy" is a book about a little boy named Timmie (Skyfire Face), who got kidnapped from his native tribe and was shipped to the future. Even though a Neanderthal, Timmie managed to master all the abilities a modern boy his age should have. With the help of his dedicated nurse/mother he even learned to read. But the media didn't care; to them he was a simple ape-boy and nothing else. It just proves that prejudice is stronger than acceptance. I recommend this boook very much to readers of all ages.

I would recommend this to anyone even if you read sf or not!

The Ugly Little Boy is a book that was recommended to me by a local librarian. Although I did borrow this that day, I did comment to her that sci-fi was not my favorite. Boy, was I wrong! The book gripped me from the beginning paragraph and held me right until the end. I found it to be just magnificent! If this is sci-fi, I want more! It has been at least three full years since I've read it but when I heard of your review contest I knew that I had to review this book. I would recommend this to anyone even if they swear not to like reading sci-fi. As far-fetched as the concept of the book seems to be, the authors managed to not only make it believable but maybe even possible! If I were Siscle and Ebert I'd give it 'two thumbs up!'

This book makes you think.

This is a book about a woman who becomes the 'mother' of a neanderthal boy and how she copes with the differences between him and the other children and also how the world is still full of prejudice and unjustness, even in the future. It is a really good book and I suggest you read it. If you have read this book and like it, I suggest you try the book Eva, because it is a lot like this book. (Also if you read and liked Eva you would most probably like this book