Product Description

Shining star Oliver Jeffers is back with this star spangled inter-galactic adventure tale in space! One day a boy finds an aeroplane in his cupboard. Up, up, up and away he flies, high into the sky. Whizzing past clouds, stars and planets until suddenly, he runs out of petrol! Miles from earth, the boy crashes into the moon and waits. Just as he is beginning to get cold and lonely, a friendly martian appears from the darkness, also with a broken aircraft. Together they come up with a super plan to float the boy back down to earth to collect his toolbox. Can the boy find his way back home safely and will he ever make it back up to the moon to rescue his friend?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3009 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Review
Praise for 'The Incredible Book Eating Boy' "Mouth-wateringly irresistible" The Guardian "This is a book that children will devour." The Observer "The whole thing looks good enough to eat." Times Educational Supplement A beautifully produced edition that really is good enough to eat." The Bookseller "With IBEB, Jeffers has produced his most appealing work yet, conjuring up a magical piece of fiction that is not only divinely illustrated and wittily told, but perfectly realised." Junior Praise for 'Lost and Found': 'An uplifting story!pictures of such spare beauty, suffused with a dreamlike quality.' Independent Online 'Oliver Jeffers makes impressive use of space in this affecting story of friendship. Illustrations capture feelings of loss and loneliness through the most delicate nuances of facial expression!and body language.' Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian 'Beautifully illustrated, simple warm story. Little children will love to share it.' Carousel 'Jeffers has a unique writing and illustrative style. It's a wonderful picture book.' Publishing News 'My picture book of the year, a joyful exploration of the power of friendship.' Irish Independent Praise for 'How to Catch a Star': 'The best recent picture book by light years! stylishly spellbinding.' Telegraph 'A story about possibilities and disappointments with a triumphant ending, all of which Jeffers captures through the beautifully expressive changing moods of his little boy.' The Guardian 'This is a magical, beautifully illustrated tale about reaching for dreams.' Mail on Sunday 'Hail to new talent! If only all picture books could be this good.' The Bookseller "How To Catch A Star" is a beautiful debut picture book from an extremely talented and innovative illustrator. This is a fantastic story which teaches children that if you wish hard enough your dreams just may come true.' The Bookseller 'Adults tend to think of waiting as tedious, but the magic of this book is that it understands waiting as children wait - alert, apprehensive and using their imaginations.' Mail on Sunday 'A stunning debut!' New Talent, Books for Keeps 'If the title sounds magical and optimistic to you, it's probably because that's exactly what this book is.' Book of the Month, Junior Praise for 'Lost and Found': 'Completely captivating and definitely one of my favourite picture books of the year.' Becky Stradwick, Children's Buyer - Borders UK, Publishing News 'Deeply satisfying book.' Books For Keeps 'Wonderfully illustrated book.' The Bookseller 'Heart-warming, irresistible story.' Financial Times Magazine 'Exceptional picture book! The strong, graphic water colour illustrations are magical.' Bookfest

About the Author
Oliver Jeffers is a fresh new talent in picture books. He graduated from The University of Ulster in 2001 with First Class honours and has since exhibited his paintings around the world. His outstanding talent has already been recognised by several high-profile awards, including the Nestle Children's Book Prize Gold Award, the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award and the Irish Children's Book of the Year.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful!
This book was a panic buy - I was on holiday with my 4 children and had forgotten their favourite bedtime stories. I rushed into an English bookshop in the Algarve, grabbed the first book that looked suitable and read it, that afternoon, to 3 of the kids (16 months, 3 years & 6 years). I haven't stopped reading it since! My 16 month old points to the beautiful illustrations and babbles constantly, my 3 year old is fascinated and talks about the book all the time (he even imagines he's the little boy) and my 6 year old really enjoyed the story and was delighted when he spotted the penguin (apparently from the book Lost & Found which he'd read at school). The story is original and just seems to capture the childrens' imaginations beautifully. Don't hesitate - buy this book! I'm now going to order some other books by this author!

Another corker
This book is crammed full of fantastic art from what must be one of the best childrens authors for a long time.

It's cute and stylish, unmistakably Oliver Jeffers.

I don't think the story is as strong as his other books, but it is still a great story, and the very last page is brilliant!

A little boy flies his plane higher and higher until he runs out of petrol and becomes stranded on the moon, thankfully he manages to make a friend when a passing Martian crash lands after his engine fails. Will they both make it back home? And will they ever speak again?

A charming surreal story with quirky stylized illustrations
This lovely picture book has great stylized pictures, with an endearingly quirky story to match. The boy finds an old fashioned aeroplane and there's a good sequence of illustrations as he dons flying helmet, jacket and goggles. Off he flies until he runs out of petrol at the moon. Just as he begins to get lonely and afraid, a delightful little green alien with engine failure also becomes stuck on the moon and they become friends. There's a second lovely sequence of illustrations as the two marooned explorers think together about how to get them both back home and they then succeed in a rather foolish and surreal but amusing fashion. Finally, just as you think the story is finished you turn over to the very last page and there's an extra smile for the reader, and a "what do you think happens next" addition to the story.
Also, if you bother with author biographies, it's a lovely to have a picture of Jeffers as a boy and my children are fascinated by his having a green brother - a lovely touch.
This is my favourite of the boy's adventures so far, which seem to be getting increasingly original - though I do also recommend the others. All three books are entirely stand alone, though it is fun for the child who is familiar with the other two to spot the penguin from `Lost and Found' and the rocket from `How to Catch a Star' appearing in the pictures of this one. This is a very enjoyable book to read to your children and I thoroughly recommend it for 2-5s.