The Way Back Home

What’s it about?

The story.

The boy finds an aeroplane in his wardrobe and, naturally, flies it. He runs out of fuel and gets stuck on the moon. There is already someone there: a small alien, his spaceship broken, also unable to get home. Neither can fix the other's problem alone, but together, working through the night, sharing what they know, they figure it out. Oliver Jeffers uses the same expansive sky and small-figure compositions that define his picture books, but here the palette goes dark and deep with the blue-black of space. The comedy is gentle, the alien's expression barely changes; the boy treats the moon as a mild inconvenience, and the story's emotional logic is satisfying without being heavy. The problem is solved through cooperation and mutual trust between strangers, which is a theme that reads naturally to young children without needing to be made explicit. One of the series' lighter and more playful entries, and a strong choice for children interested in space, science, or stories about two people working something out together.