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Journey by Aaron Becker

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Summary: A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all. (Amazon)

Attention Span/reading level: No words, just pictures. I was able to look through it with my three year old, but had to guide her to look for details to explain what was going on. She did quite well at narrating the story for me though. I'd say it's geared toward 5-10 years old, but could be used with any age. 

Good uses for book in teaching: Imagination, storytelling, sequence of events. Friendship

Favorite part: Mine: The idea that imagination can take you on adventures even when the real world isn't that much fun. I also like the part where the bird leads the girl on the flying carpet. 

Least favorite part?  Warnings/negative feedback?: None. 

Review: Journey is very interesting because there are no words. Everything that is communicated is suggested in the pictures. It's amazing to see just how much a story can be told in this way. And the more times I looked through it, the more details I caught. The illustrations are lovely, but not as beautiful as I was expecting from the reviews that I had read. 

 I loved being able to guide my child through this story and see her discover what was happening as well. And most especially loved the message that imagination can "take you places" and maybe even lead to friendship.

 Book Award: SC Book Award Nomine   

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