THE BOOK FROM FAR AWAY

Children are alike all over.

Ensconced in a treehouse, a child removes a book from a frog-shaped backpack and begins to read. Noticing something odd in the distance, the child shelters behind a tree and witnesses a spaceship landing. Two older extraterrestrials and a youngster step out. After enjoying an elaborate picnic and games, the visitors fly off in their spaceship but leave an object: an intricately decorated golden disk with transparent, turnable overlays: pages? Suddenly, the young extraterrestrial, who’s apparently been left behind, reappears; the kids communicate nonverbally. The Earth child returns the disk to its owner and, retrieving the book from the backpack, gifts it to the visitor. The spaceship returns, the kids hug farewell, and the space kid departs. Later, the earthling describes the incident to the rest of the family; the pet cat gazes skyward. Elsewhere in the universe, the outer-space youngster and family share the Earth volume. Finally, the Earth kid draws pictures of the disk, the space youngster savors the prized earthly souvenir…and the cat makes an astounding discovery in the backpack. This wordless offering emphasizes that kids understand kids, no matter their origin, and that books have universal appeal—literally. Readers will love poring over the clearly composed artwork’s luminous, wondrously imaginative, interplanetary details. The dark-haired earthling and one parent are light-skinned; the other parent is brown-skinned. The orange-faced space child’s hair resembles the sun’s rays. The extraterrestrial adults appear to be seniors; one uses a stylized wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This wordless tale speaks volumes.