When E.T. shattered box office records in the summer of 1982, the demand for merchandise was unprecedented. Acclaimed fiction writer and poet William Kotzwinkle was hired to write the novelization based on Melissa Mathison's script.
Kotzwinkle did a famously fantastic job, adding creative depth that wasn't fully explicated in the film. Most notably, he chose to write portions of the book from E.T.’s perspective, giving readers a look at the alien's internal thoughts, his ancient wisdom, his confusion regarding human customs, and his deep telepathic connection to the plant life on Earth.
