Leap. Campbell Manning. Illustrated by Nadia Ronquillo. Franklin, TN: Flowerpot Press (Distributed in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son), 2016. 32 pp., hardcover, $21.99. ISBN 978-1-4867-0948-9. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7. Review by Ellen Heaney. *** /4

Because picture storybooks with an outer space theme are not that easy to find, I was eager to have a look at this book from small publisher Flowerpot Press.

      Here, Canadian writer Campbell Manning and Ecuadoran artist Nadia Ronquillo introduce readers to a young boy with no name - but a pair of stylishly oversized specs - who dreams of reaching the moon.

Maybe not now, but pretty soon,

I’m going to LEAP off of the moon.
I thought I’d jump off of a star.

For my first time that seemed too far.

     His classmates doubt that his plan will be successful, but he continues to picture the craft he will build (a re-engineered toy truck and some Lego blocks) and the supplies he might need, including “a zillion cans of air”, which look like stacks of cat food cans.

      Imagination eventually takes him into the stratosphere.

I’ll see the earth from way up high

And satellites as they pass by.

Stars shining brighter than before,

Up where the universe can roar.

     The space flight which has taken place in his mind’s eye ends with a triumphal parachute landing and the requisite return to the reality of daily life.

Oh, just one last thing:

I have a hunch

Mom makes me wait ‘til after lunch.

     Computer-generated illustrations take readers soaring on this trip and create a great sense of place, whether it is a schoolroom or the vastness of space with stars and a glowing planet in the background. The rhyming text is cheerful if not exceptionally original and definitely drives the story forward. Leap is not timeless children’s literature, but it’s a useful addition to the storytime shelf or a primary library collection.

Recommended.

Ellen Heaney is a retired children’s librarian living in Coquitlam, BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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