Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Earth to Audrey
Illustrator: Stephane Poulin
Picture Book
For ages 6 to 10
Kids Can Press, 2007 ISBN: 978-1554531653
Ray is having a very boring and lonely time this summer. His best friends have gone to camp, and he doesn’t have anyone to do things with. Then he meets Audrey, and his whole life changes. Ray is convinced that Audrey is an alien. Not only do her pigtails look like antenna, but Audrey doesn’t think about or see things the way he does. She likes to do things that are a little odd, like training grasshoppers and lying on the ground to look up into the sky. Thanks to Audrey, Ray finds out things about his planet that he never knew, and he comes to see it in a whole new light. In fact, Ray comes to realize how truly extraordinary and special his planet is.
In this wonderful picture book with its evocative pictures, two children share their thoughts about the wonders of the universe. They also share something else that is powerful and special – friendship. Readers can rejoice in Ray’s imaginings about aliens, spaceships, and laser guns. Though we may think that Audrey is just an ordinary little girl who is feeling lonely, we cannot help wondering if she is in fact more than what she seems. In the end, Audrey gives Ray something more precious than gold, and she makes a believer of him.
