Meanwhile Back on Earth . . .: Finding Our Place Through Time and Space

A father and his two young, quibbling children leave Earth for an imaginative voyage through space. They venture to the Moon, tens of thousands of miles from their homeland. Then on toward Venus and a multitude of other celestial beings, including the Sun, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Pluto. They travel while simultaneously time-traveling through the numerous conflicts that have plagued mankind since the beginning of time. As their journey nears its end, the kids have lost their will to fight. In fact, they’ve both fallen into a peaceful slumber.

This is classic Oliver Jeffers. It’s entertaining, intriguing, and original, not to mention humorous. The conversations between the siblings, which are depicted through word bubbles, are light-hearted and comical, as are their father’s responses. Youth ages five to nine will find their dialogue highly relatable and really quite hilarious.

Meanwhile Back on Earth… is full of fascinating facts about the universe as well as many of the territorial disputes, wars, and other forms of discord among human beings that have occurred throughout history. They’re creatively woven into the narrative as well as articulately represented through the illustrations.