Parachute

PreS-Gr 2—Toby has a parachute. It's useful for many things, such as getting out of bed or stepping down from his breakfast chair or from his stool after brushing his teeth. Just having his parachute backpack on makes Toby feel safe and secure. When his cat Henry is caught in a tree, Toby cleverly uses his parachute to rescue him. But now he needs a way to get down on his own. Anyone who has been or known a child with a security blanket can relate to Toby's experience of fear and the comfort such an item can bring. The simplicity and sincerity of the story is well known and oft told. Yet this is also a story of perspective. Parker's remarkable digital images portray Toby's fear in exaggerated depth, height, and sense of danger with an added air of whimsy that amplifies his circumstances as only a child's imagination can. This is an extraordinary picture book that will delight yet inspire discussion by young children and slightly older ones as well.