Far, far away, in deep, dark space, was a star. A tiny twinkle. But it was Star Boy’s home. Star Boy lived there all alone, with only his robot, Ace, for company. And although Ace was fun to play with, he was just a robot. For his birthday, all Star Boy wanted was a surprise – but how could a robot think of a surprise? This deceptively simple science fiction story explores ideas of friendship and understanding. Text type – A fantasy story. Pictures taken through the Space Girl’s viewer are featured on pages 22 and 23, showing views from her rocket and snap shots of the birthday party providing lots of speaking and listening opportunities. Curriculum links – Citizenship: Taking part, Developing skills of communication and participation. This story is paired with a non-fiction book on a similar theme: Let’s go to Mars by Janice Marriott. This book has been levelled for Reading Recovery. This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader.