Sometimes writer/illustrator combinations come together to create a world that only a child could truly understand. An Leysen's "Mara the Space Traveler" is just that book.. I have a three-year old son who instantly fell in love with the wispy-haired adventurer and her little green friends. Mara the Space Traveler read's like a dream.

One night, while the moon is full and enticing, Mara imagines all of the places she could see in space. She closes her eyes and soon her journey begins. Issues of global warming and heroism could be easily tied into reading this story with a larger group of children. The text was simple but still included some challenging words for the age group like "clearing" but I could definitely see this being a point to expand vocabulary.

I'd recommend this book off of the illustrations alone, but it is a very cute, concise story that is sure to catch some readers attention. ..

A beautifully drawn picture book with a cute story.
The story of a little girl who dreams about being a space traveler is a little weak (3 stars) but the drawings are a clear 5-star!
I will def. come back to admire this work of art.