Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship. 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.

What Kind of Book is Journey

Topics

friendship courage problem solving magic adventure and adventurers imagination and play

Genres

action and adventure fiction fantasy and magic

Reviews

Marmee

5.50

This is a beautiful wordless picture book following a young girl through her imagination to a world where things don't always work out as she expects. She has to think fast, but with a little creative problem solving and a lot of imagination she's able to discover just what she was looking for—a friend. A fresh take on a journey with elements vaguely reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are and Harold and the Purple Crayon!

B is for Bookworm

5.25

Book Lists That Include Journey

Books about friendship

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

Books about courage

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

Books about problem solving

The Creative Behind the Book

Author & Illustrator

Aaron Becker

Aaron Becker learned while living in Granada, Spain, that many of the city’s stone churches had at one point been mosques and, before that, Roman ruins. Which got him thinking: What wisdom can something as still as a rock share with the rest of us? While he could only guess at the answer, he does have some experience with these ancient fragments of earth. After all, the house where he grew up in Baltimore was built from, you guessed it, stone. Aaron Becker lives in western Massachusetts.