One Giant Leap by Thao Lam (review)

Reviewed by: One Giant Leap by Thao Lam Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Lam, Thao One Giant Leap; written and illus. by Thao Lam. OwlKids, 2024 48p Trade ed. ISBN 9781771475990 18. 95 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-8 yrs In the opening pages of this wordless picture book, our protagonist is layering up in some pretty serious gear: gloves, boots, a cap. . . and a spacesuit. Portal doors open and a rocky, gray lunar landscape awaits. The kiddo is not at all scared, instead bouncing through zero gravity and happily finding a flag to plant at the top of a crater with a friend. Problems ensue, however, when they mistakenly fall into the crater, but even here our protagonist musters up the courage to keep going, meeting weird and wonderful creatures along the way. They even fight through a shower of moon rocks and hail to the safety of. . . a classroom, as fellow travelers shuck off their boots, scarves, and mittens, ready to start the school day after a snowy trek through the city. Savvy readers might see the reveal of the space-kid's true nature early, but the book's last few pages make the journey worth it, as viewers will want to find the features of the city landscape that pair with the various obstacles and objects the child encountered along the way (a patterned slide looks a lot like the long-necked creature in the caverns, and a scarf left in the snow shares its colors with the aforementioned flag). Collage-like art lends dimension and movement to scenes, and the use of scale is especially effective as scenes go gleefully off-kilter as the space-kid's journey becomes increasingly chaotic. This would pair nicely with Cecil's The Spaceman, reviewed above, as inspiration to look at the world anew. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois