I've read other Heinlein before and liked it, but I was still surprised at how good this was. It starts a little slow, but becomes a real page-turner. I really enjoyed it!

Never mind the "Mother Thing" and "Father Thing," characters who will win over your kids, being alien characters for whom it is still politically correct to instruct human parents of today on their archetypical family roles. Forget the villainous villains who would sell out their own world, not just their own nation, as is so popular today... The riff delivered by the father early in the book on the sorry state of public education in which everything except science and facts are taught is as up-to-date as today. A must read book for you and your children and far ahead of its time