COME FLY WITH ME

A pair of toys perched on a Parisian windowsill decides to embark on an adventure. Cosmos, the wooden plane complains to his friend Woggy, a stuffed dog, that he has never been out of their playroom. Woggy, pointing at the white dome in the distance suggests, “That’s Somewhere,” and off they go, Woggy astride Cosmos. Their joy ride turns from fun to fright when they copy birds’ antics, flying figure eights, losing control and when, before they know it, blue skies have given way to dark growling clouds. They’re tossed and thrown, landing on the roof of the white-domed building they had seen from afar—the Sacré-Coeur. Their adventure concludes with the pair’s view of the Parisian cityscape, this time from atop a Sacré-Coeur gargoyle. Ichikawa’s illustrations convey a sense of place and energy, motion and exuberance, the plane and passenger on the cover heading into the story. The whirling propeller, blowing scarf, ears and paint blurred by air movement create an energy that conveys the character’s zest for adventure. Billowy white clouds fill pastel blue skies as the endpapers echo the circular form of the story. A deceptively simple adventure that will appeal to young children who complain they don’t go anywhere. (Picture book. 4-6)