Lights on Wonder Rock

by David Litchfield, David Litchfield (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Stunning illustrations, timeless storytelling and a graphic novel layout. David Litchfield found the perfect vehicle to share Lights on Wonder Rock with the world (and universe). Thought-provoking with a hint of whimsy and a sci-fi heart, this is a perfect addition to any book collection or will make a memorable gift. Whether this is tucked away on the bookcase or kept within arm’s reach, you’ll find yourself thinking of Heather and her friend long after your first reading.

E.T. meets The Giving Tree in this stunningly illustrated picture book about friendship, family, wonder, and magic that shows how, sometimes, the things we’re searching for have been right in front of us all along. From the award-winning creator of The Bear and the Piano. 

Heather wants more than anything to go to outer space, where the stars sparkle with magic and wonder. When a UFO lands behind her house and she meets a friendly alien, it seems that all of her dreams have come true. But soon her new friend has to return home. Will the spaceship ever come back for her? And if it does, is Heather ready to leave everything on Earth behind?

In this tale about dreaming big while appreciating what you have, best-selling picture book creator David Litchfield's innovative visual storytelling uses wordless, light-filled spreads and graphic novel style layouts to transport readers through space and time and celebrate the power of family and human connection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358359531
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/08/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	663,335
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

David Litchfield is the creator of the award-winning The Bear and the Piano and its companion, The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle. He is also the illustrator of Miss Muffet, Or what Came After by Marilyn Singer and many other picture books. He lives with his family in Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. www.davidlitchfieldillustration.com, Twitter: @dc_litchfield, Instagram: @david_c_litchfield.

David Litchfield is the creator of the award-winning The Bear and the Piano and its companion, The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle. He is also the illustrator of Miss Muffet, Or what Came After by Marilyn Singer and many other picture books. He lives with his family in Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. www.davidlitchfieldillustration.com, Twitter: @dc_litchfield, Instagram: @david_c_litchfield.

Editorial Reviews

10/26/2020

Heather has glasses, a gap-toothed smile, and a burning desire to explore space: “She wanted more than anything to leave Earth behind and go to live among the stars.” After sitting patiently with a flashlight on a huge boulder, she succeeds in attracting a UFO and makes the acquaintance of a tall, thoughtful alien. Her dream is about to come true—until she realizes that her parents will miss her, and she returns. The text is minimal; accomplished artwork by Litchfield (The Bear and the Piano) carries most of the story. Grids of small panels alternate with big, theatrically lit spreads as Heather’s flashlight slices through the night and the spaceship casts a pink glow over the forest. Decades pass, and Heather—still waiting on Wonder Rock, remarkably—gets another chance. This time, though, it’s Heather’s young family that draws her back. The evidence for her life as a matriarch is uneven: after a long panel sequence depicts Heather playing with a child, four more kids of various ethnicities appear out of nowhere, all at once. Litchfield’s friendly alien, who offers paper and crayons and cups of tea, provides the tale’s most beguiling moments. Ages 4–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/01/2020

PreS-Gr 2—A fantastical, partially wordless story tells of a girl and her fascination with all things extraterrestrial. Heather sits patiently on Wonder Rock with a flashlight until a UFO finally lands and she encounters a friendly alien.Though she wants to go with it to explore the unknown, she returns home, knowing her parents will miss her. From that day on she longs for the alien's return, and comes back to Wonder Rock to wait. As an elderly woman, her outer space friend returns. Yet again, she nearly ventures into space, but her loving children and grandchildren beckon her back. Litchfield talks directly to readers, repeating, "Time passed, as time does," along with wordless panels that effectively demonstrate the passage of a lifetime. Wordless pages also illustrate the interactions with the alien. The pictures are mesmerizing, with rich, dark forests, streaming magical moonlight, and a round silver UFO that flashes with pink and purple light. The opening spread shows a silhouette of red-headed Heather walking from a cabin in the spotlight of a moon hung low in a deep blue sky. And while there is a clear sense of longing throughout Heather's life, she is not consumed by it, nor is there trepidation or fear of the blue alien. VERDICT When Heather rejoices as her family finally meets her Wonder Rock friend, readers will be right there with her. A wondrous tale, this is recommended for picture book collections.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge P.L., MA

School Library Journal

2020-07-14
An alien encounter keeps a woman hoping to recapture a magical moment all her life.

One night Heather sneaks off into the woods with a flashlight, sitting on Wonder Rock and “hoping that someone out there would see her light.” When something arrives, it comes in an explosion of bright colors, flashing lights, and glowing particles. From a flying saucer emerges a friendly creature who looks like a giant spoon. Heather draws a picture for it before she retreats to her family. For the rest of her life, Heather returns to Wonder Rock, hoping for a reunion but growing disenchanted. It’s not until she is “an old lady” who has “nearly lost all hope, as people do,” that the ship returns to, predictably, teach her that the family she has raised is the magic she was always seeking. Litchfield’s slightly mournful story is punctuated by moments of thrilling escape, none more lovely than a single page of Heather’s “off / and on” flashlight vigil, laid out as nine panels that go from giddy anticipation to disappointment to sudden fear, a technique deployed again when Heather is old. But the text does not rise to the level of enchanting artwork, falling flat with tired clichés and concluding with a thud. As with the crayon pictures that Heather uses to communicate with the ET, some ideas don’t need words. Heather presents White; her family is interracial.

These close encounters are better seen than read. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews