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Monday, March 4, 2024

A Way To The Stars, written by David Almond and illustrated by Gill Smith. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House. 2023. $24.99 ages

 


"They worked harder. 
They worked faster. 

A trampoline.

A pair of wings. 


pogo 
stick. 

A cannon! 

Up! Up! Up! Up! No! No! No! No!"

It is Joe's wish to find a way to the stars. His friends laugh; his dad says he'll help. What more can a kid ask? Dad encourages thinking, then follows through with any suggestions Joe makes. Up a ladder he goes; until a branch breaks, he falls and Dad is there for the rescue. Time for another think. 

What about a tower? It's worth a try. They gather as many cardboard boxes as they can find, and put together their tower. It's pretty precarious! Dad is sure Joe is right when next he suggests a rocket ship. Alas, the flight is rough, but the landing is soft. Both are willing to try again. 

The ideas keep coming, as do the failed attempts. Together they laugh. Dad wonders about giving up. Jess is adamant that they keep trying. Finally, their attempts and their ever-evolving ideas pay dividends when they build a shed, and head inside. What they do there is absolute perfection! 

"This was how Joe found 
a way to the stars.
"

Mixed-media scenes of this father/son pair are filled with love and joy. Comfortable together and eager to find a way to make Joe's dreams come true, their expressions and escapades are sure to delight young readers. That never-give-up attitude makes this a perfect read aloud book in early years classrooms. 
                                                                               


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