Jess McGeachin, The Space Between, Puffin, July 2024, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780143779186
Included in the 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Picture Book Notables list.
Max and Milo are neighbours and best friends living in a rural location. They do everything together, while dreaming about and researching space and the planets. Using their imagination, the boys build their own rocket ship (an old ute found in the orange grove) and have a long Sunday night adventure. When Milo and his family move to the bright lights of the city, Max is devastated until he realises that Milo has created a way of keeping in touch, retaining the tradition of Sunday night exploration.
The story is a celebration of friendship when close by but not necessarily diminished by distance. Throughout the book, McGeachin has cleverly and seamlessly interwoven facts about the Universe. He has combined traditional watercolour with digital techniques, reflecting the various landscapes and family circumstances, and has used the endpapers show a journey through the galaxy and how to return home. Young readers will discover many things from the interaction of the two forms of text: verbal and visual.
Reviewed by Maureen Mann
