by Anna Menon (Author) Andy Harkness (Illustrator)
As Polaris Dawn crewmember, engineer, and mother Anna Menon gets ready to take off into space, she penned this sweet picture book as a love letter to her kids—reimagining their family as a tight-knit clan of adventurous dragons who love each other across any distance!
You see, when we’re apart,
we’re not really alone.
I’ll send kisses from space,
and I’ll always come home.
When Anna Menon was offered the chance to become an astronaut on Polaris Dawn, it would fulfill her childhood dream of going to space. But it would also put the largest distance ever between her and her kids. Anna had to consider how she'd connect with her kids as she orbited 870 miles above them at over 15,000 miles per hour.
Kisses from Space is the story of a mama dragon coming home from an out-of-this-world adventure and, snuggling her baby dragons close, she tells them of her journey and how she thought of them the entire time. This heartwarming picture book—written in fun, lyrical rhyme and stunningly illustrated—is about the bonds between family members and a mother’s unwavering love for her children.
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Beginning with an invitation to "gather round, my sweet dragons--your mama is back," Polaris Dawn crewmember Menon, in collaboration with Vasek, pens this affectionate ode to adventure and familial connection on Earth, and beyond. Rigorously rhyming verse that traces how "my mission to space/ took me far and away" next delineates the family's plan for passing the time apart. As the mother of dragons prepares for her voyage via extensive training--sea swimming, mountain climbing--she gathers seashells and rocks to take to her young, while they in turn tuck a teddy bear into her suitcase. Harkness's digitally finished sculpted illustrations lend a three-dimensional, toylike feel to the sweet-faced dragon family, landscapes visited, and even the mama dragon's trip to space, where, "Shooting and falling,/ it came from afar./ I knew when I saw it--/ I would bring you a star!" It's a reassuring work for families spending time apart, assuring that, "not even the mountains,/ the sea, or the stars/ could ever compare/ to this family of ours." Includes a closing note. Ages 4-8. (June)
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