Seriously, go get this book (have I mentioned that before?).

Journey by Aaron Becker has all the magic and detail and fun of David Wiesner’s best books (and I cannot imagine I’m the first person to make that comparison). I read it to our little preschool group on Tuesday and they all stopped their 3-year-old bouncing and wiggling and were riveted to the page.

I particularly love a picture book that loops back to the beginning – where you feel like the book has really come full circle, and this one does it marvelously. The contrast between those pages of sepia and this full color forest is so breathtaking, I almost couldn’t speak when I turned the page. She draws a door on her wall (by now, we’ve read this enough times that Ella always says on this page, “Do we draw on the wall? NO, we do NOT draw on the wall”), opens the door, and steps into a magical, full-color place. So she heads up to her room, where, in the midst of all these shades of brown, is a bright red marker on the floor. Inside, you can see her mom in the kitchen on the phone, her dad at the computer, and her sister playing a video game. The first few pages of Journey are all sepia tones, with a little girl slumped on the front stoop of her city apartment. I’m sure Merrick and Landen would be happy to commiserate with you). Click right over to your library this MINUTE and request a copy (I apologize for my bossiness, but sometimes (always) my oldest childness pushes its way to the top. And then, when Ella finally picked it from the library basket, we both just sort of gaped in delight at this amazing, beautiful book. I reserved this from the library after my librarian friend Jen recommended it on Twitter, but didn’t get around to opening it until a week or so later. Actually, it’s a great wordless picture book. And Journey is a GOOD wordless picture book. Can it also guide her home and to happiness? In this exquisitely illustrated book, an ordinary child is launched on an extraordinary, magical journey towards her greatest and most rewarding adventure of all.You all know I love a good wordless picture book. who knows where? When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Red marker pen in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon and a flying carpet which carry her on a spectacular journey.

Through it she escapes into a world where wonder, adventure and danger abound.

The winner of the prestigious Caldecott Honor, and described by the New York Times as 'a masterwork', Aaron Becker's stunning, wordless picture book debut about self-determination and unexpected friendship follows a little girl who draws a magic door on her bedroom wall. Click here to purchase from Rakuten Kobo Be swept away on an elaborate flight of fancy in this Caldecott award-winning, wondrously illustrated picture book about self-determination and unexpected friendship.

Journey aaron becker pictures