Skip to main content

ENCHANTED STORIES: We Dream of Space



We Dream of Space 
 By Erin Entrada Kelly
Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers, 2020. 391 p.

Cash, Fitch, and Bird are siblings that are all in seventh grade. Cash was held back one year and Fitch and Bird are twins. They all have the same science teacher who is excited to teach them about the upcoming 1986 Challenger Mission Launch. Each sibling has their own struggles. Cash isn’t sure what he is good at, and he is afraid to fail 7th grade for a second time. Fitch is only interested in playing games at the arcade after school and often let’s his temper get the best of him. Bird wants to become the first female shuttle commander and is enthralled with learning about Challenger but is frustrated when others keep telling her she isn’t pretty. To top everything off, their home life isn’t stellar seeing how their parents tend to only argue with each other. With all that is going on, the siblings must learn what is important to them and to each other. Kelly has created a trio of strong characters that must learn what is most important to them in the face of personal family challenges and a national disaster. Readers who are struggling with their own imperfect realities will gravitate toward this enchanting novel.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Alice with a Why

Alice with a Why By Anna James New York: Penguin, 2026. Fiction. 240 pgs. In 1919, in the aftermath of the first World War, Alyce is living with her grandmother in the English countryside. Her grandmother, also named Alice, tells Alyce (with a y) stories from her childhood adventures in a wonderful land filled with white rabbits and mad hatters. Alyce doesn't really believe the silly stories, she just misses her father who was killed in the war. One day, Alyce receives a mysterious invitation to tea, and subsequently falls into a pond where she is transported to Wonderland. Her grandmother, of course, is that Alice. Alyce is prompted by the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and March Hare to seek out the Time Being and put an end to the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. Thus begins Alyce's adventure through Wonderland. I have a certain soft spot for the original story of Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my particular favorites and I often have a hard time reading new int...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Five Faves: Funny Animal Picture Books

Here is the thing, I have a kid that loves animals. And I have another kid who really likes funny books. So when it comes to reading books if I can get a book that is funny and has animals in it, there is a chance that I can get both of my kids to listen to that book. Which is a win-win for reading time at my house. Here are some great new picture books that feature animals that may also make readers chuckle. Enjoy!  Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World)  By Corey R. Tabor  New York: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2025. Picture Book.  In this book a very cranky (and crabby) crow keeps “kaw”ing at all the other animals to get them to go away. The other animals respond in various states of annoyance/offense to Crow’s response. Eventually readers see the reasoning behind Crow’s actions—which is where the chuckles will come in.  Help Me Find My Hamster!  Written by Brooke Hartman  Illustrated by Anna Süssbauer  Salem, MA: Pa...