Astro Girl

The stars are the limit for a little girl who acts out her wish to be an astronaut -- inspired by a very special person.

Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. "I want to be an astronaut!" she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission -- like being in zero gravity ("I can do that all day long!" she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it's time to meet Mama at the air base, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been? Channeling a sense of childlike delight, Ken Wilson-Max brings space travel up close for young readers and offers an inspiring ending.

Ken Wilson-Max was born and raised in Zimbabwe and studied design in the U.K. He is the author-illustrator of many children's books. He says that he has always believed that people are more similar than different, and that that is worth celebrating. Ken Wilson-Max lives in London.