Archive | October 10, 2016

Up, Up and Away

Up, Up and Away

Up, Up and Away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up, Up and Away

Tom McLaughlin

Bloomsbury, 2016

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781408870150

Orson loves to make things and he is always tinkering and experimenting.  His latest idea is the most ambitious yet, but what does it take to build your very own planet?  Can it be made with

  • A cup full of rocks
  • A dash of water
  • A sprinkling of metal
  • A lot of nothingness
  • A big bang …

BOOM! He has it – a tiny planet with rings around it, right there in his bedroom! But it seems that BUILDING a planet is the easy bit; taking care of it is a different thing altogether. Over time, Orson realises that his planet needs to be free and that sometimes you have to let go of the things that you love the most …

This is a quirky story that will appeal to the dreamers as Orson realises his dream after a lot of reading and research. Those with an innate need to invent and make will empathise with Orson’s need as well as his dilemma when he realises what he must do.  But there is a deeper message here. When Orson tries to keep his planet happy by taking it to the movies but it doesn’t respond, he undertakes even more reading to find out what it really needed – thereby posing a big question for the reader.  What DOES our planet need to keep it happy?  What can we do to make sure that it is?  

With its deceptively simple text and storyline and charming pictures, this book has the potential to spark an important investigation into all aspects of the environment and its sustainability.