Exploring outer space and the ocean is exciting, but what if you left something very important at home?
Best friends Garcia and Colette are eager to go exploring, only they can’t agree on where to go. Garcia loves everything about space (Stars! Planets!) and Colette is obsessed with the sea (Waves! Fish!).
Staying home is not an option, so they each get busy. Garcia builds a rocket ship that’s snazzy and silver. Colette’s shiny submarine is perfect for deep-sea dives. And they wish each other well on their travels.
It turns out the Milky Way really is amazing and the ocean floor is truly spectacular, but Garcia and Colette both realize they left something very important back home.
Exploring your favorite place can be terrific, but maybe the company is more important than the destination.
On sale: June 6, 2017
Age: 3-5 years
Grade: Up to Kindergarten
Page count: 32 Pages
ISBN: 9781101996836
Reading level: Lexile: 570L
Hannah Barnaby has worked as a children's book editor, a bookseller, and a teacher of writing for children and young adults. She holds an MA in children's literature from Simmons College and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College. Her first novel,
Wonder Show, was a William C. Morris YA Debut Award nominee.
Andrew Joyner is an illustrator, author and cartoonist based in Strathalbyn, South Australia. In 2009 his first picture book was published,
The Terrible Plop, written by Ursula Dubosarsky. Since then Andrew has illustrated many more picture books, including
Too Many Elephants in this House (also by Ursula Dubosarsky) and
The Swap, written by Jan Ormerod. He has also written and illustrated the
Boris series of early-reader chapter books, all about a winsome and adventurous warthog. Along with his children's book work, Andrew illustrates regularly for
The School Magazine, a literary magazine for younger readers published by the NSW Department of Education.
★ "[T]he full-speed-ahead enthusiasm of Garcia and Colette is infectious. Telling one story well is enough of a challenge, but this book perfectly balances two stories and the characters within them, adding up to more than the sum."—
Kirkus, starred review
"[
Garcia & Colette Go Exploring is] full of whimsical, witty illustrations and features several lesson ideas that cover concepts such as adjectives, vocabulary, compare and contrast, biomes, friendship, compromise, and counting backwards from ten."—
School Library Connection
"Barnaby has penned an entertaining picture book celebrating creative play and togetherness."—
School Library Journal
