FICTION

The Flying Hand of Marco B.

by Richard LEITER
The Flying Hand of Marco B. illus. by Shahar Kober. 24p. ebook available. Sleeping Bear. 2015. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9781585368884. LC 2013027384.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—Though little Marco's mother keeps asking him to keep his hand inside the car while it's moving, he can't resist the temptation. Soon he is sucked out the window and soars up to the clouds, greeting birds, all led by his flying hand. When Marco makes it all the way to outer space and sees an alien spaceship, he decides it's all a bit too scary and wants to go home. He points himself back down and tumbles back into the moving car, with his family none the wiser. The rhyming text and bright, cartoonish illustrations full of fantastical details such as helium balloons in space make it clear that it's Marco's imagination that is really taking the trip.
VERDICT A slight but pleasant tale about a common childhood fascination.
Reviewed by Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
What kid hasn't stuck his hand out the car window and let it ride the breeze? Marco B. does just this (much to his mother's displeasure) and ends up on a fantastical ride, flying above his car and town and into outer space. The premise recalls Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach, but this awkwardly rhymed story lacks any emotional punch. Friendly illustrations employ interesting perspectives.
 , May 01, 2015

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