IF I LIVED IN THE SKY

Variety is the spice of life.

Deep in the forest lies a vibrant community of land-dwelling animals. Among them is a rather perturbed blue bear (“a guy”) who hates life on land. It’s “dirty and smelly and loud.” After finding a white feather, the bear dreams of a life high up in the sky with “the wind in my face and the forest down below.” While caught up in epic daydreams (featured in a series of lively spreads of the bruin and an assortment of feathered friends flying free against open skies in a soothing palette of purples, blues, and reds), the bear has an emotional chance encounter with the owner of the white feather. Acknowledging the sad reality that flight may not be possible, the bear returns home, sees the other creatures making merry, and joins them—and realizes that perhaps life on the ground isn’t so bad after all. This wistful story invites young people to ponder the possibility of considering life from a different perspective. Debut author/illustrator Rajunov’s emotional first-person text, combined with delicate, energetic, yet never overly busy acrylic, gouache, pastel, and colored pencil illustrations, captures the bear’s feelings, which run the gamut from anger to pensiveness, disappointment, and exuberance, making this a natural selection for a read-aloud centered on social-emotional learning.

Inspiring fare for young dreamers.