The Way Back Home (The Boy #2)

PreS-Gr 2 Surprised but unfazed to find an airplane in his closet, a boy flies it to the moon, runs out of gas, meets a similarly stranded Martian, and makes a new friend. The charm of this story is how completely it maintains a childlike perspective. The boy is putting a full-size rowboat away when he finds the airplane: "He didn't remember leaving it in there, but he thought he'd take it out for a go right away." This approach continues in the watercolor, graphite, and collage artwork. Figures consist of circle heads, box bodies, and stick legs; the backgrounds are flat colors with a few scribbled-in clouds or puffs of exhaust. Humorous details abound. Before his initial flight, the boy systematically dresses in jacket, scarf, helmet, goggles, and gloves, then does a few stretches to prepare fully. After meeting the Martian, he parachutes home for supplies but gets distracted by his favorite television show. The Martian waits, impatiently checking his wristwatch. Eventually, the boy returns to the moon via a rope, both vehicles are repaired, and the travelers prepare to depart, wondering if they will ever meet again. The last page provides hope of keeping in touch when the boy receives an unusual transmitter in the mail. The message that friends are friends whether they are near or far comes through in a warm, amusing manner. - Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission

Jeffers's (The Incredible Book Eating Boy) arrestingly illustrated book begins with the creation of a spare watercolor world: a single, nameless boy on a deserted beach. Quickly the story takes a surprising turn: the boy finds an airplane in his closet and crashes it on the moon. When he's joined by a similarly stranded Martian, the two strangers hatch a scrappy plan for rescue, suggesting a moral: it's good to work together. After the unusual narrative leaps at the beginning of the story, the message feels a little forced, and it's less fun than expected. Even so, a quality reminiscent of The Little Prince comes through, not just in the lone boy/outer-space setting, but in the balance between the humor in the predicament and loneliness. These two emotions are matched perfectly by the mixed-media art. Colorful figures swim in vast amounts of negative space, isolated and a bit melancholy, but their postures and faces are playful, almost comic. An odd scale and lopsided figures suggest a world off-kilter, while silly monsters and impossible feats keep things light. With uneven graphite outlines on watercolor-soaked paper that reveals the grain of the paper, the overall effect is tactile, textured and even a little childlike. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)

Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission