The stars are the limit for a little girl who acts out her wish to be an astronaut — inspired by a very special person.

Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. “I want to be an astronaut!” she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission — like being in zero gravity (“I can do that all day long!” she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it’s time to meet Mama at the air base, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been? Channeling a sense of childlike delight, Ken Wilson-Max brings space travel up close for young readers and offers an inspiring ending.

Out September 2019

32 Pages Approx.

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great story, I found myself enjoying it immensely. You learn about Astrid and her dreams before finding out what her mom does for a living. I pleasantly surprised and can imagine young female readers will experience this too.

The sentences are short, but dialogue is prevalent and may trick up new readers, so I would push this book toward a more advanced reader group of picture books. The paragraphs are short too. The book is large and can easily fit into a little reader’s lap.

The illustrations are not something I’m overly thrilled with. The colors are dark at times and seem oppressive. The items in the book are almost too big, or bulky and didn’t fit the story for me. The one-dimensional art style just didn’t rock the book for me and I would have liked seeing a more delicate style applied with bright colors and strong strokes. It’s probably just me.

I did like the informational section at the back that introduces more female astronauts to the reader. There’s a few facts included that I wasn’t aware of and appreciated.

I enjoyed the story so much because of the topic materials and diversity shown that I only took off 1/2 a star for the clunky art.

I gave it: