• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: 1 to 12

A playful wordless story about the power of imagination and creativity in play

A child zips up their orange suit, pulls on a pair of boots, and adjusts their hat. They’re ready for an adventure. But where are they going? With the push of an elevator button, their adventure begins, and they’re transformed … into an astronaut!

The child takes one small step into a barren landscape. Then one giant leap. Soon, they’re hopping around a strange new planet and scaling space mountains. As they explore the peculiar planet, the astronaut discovers colorful space creatures of all shapes and sizes. Suddenly, a blizzard hits, and the astronaut races through the storm right into … the school hallway! The little astronaut was a child on their way to school, and the space odyssey was all part of their imagination.

This inventive and satisfying new wordless picture book from acclaimed author and illustrator Thao Lam celebrates a child’s talent for making the mundane magical. Thao’s signature storytelling style is dynamic, engaging, and rewards close observation. Keen-eyed readers will spot clues in the illustrations that reveal what’s really going on and feel inspired to creatively reframe tiresome tasks.

THAO Lam has been creating pictures for as long as she can remember. For her, drawing has always felt as natural as breathing. She has an insatiable love for coloured and textured papers, which she uses to create her exuberant collages. Passionate about children’s books, Thao is especially interested in visual storytelling. She draws inspiration from the stories she hears, from the beauty in everyday things, and from the work of the many illustrators she admires. As an art buyer for an education publishing company, she has the opportunity to work with thousands of different artists from all around the world. Since studying illustration for three years at Sheridan College in Toronto, Thao has developed her dual careers of illustrating and art buying. Her art works have appeared in publications such as Cricket and Highlight magazines. In 2008, she won the Highlights Five Pewter Plate award for verse illustration of the year. She has twice been chosen for the American Illustration Award. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Thao Lam's profile page

"Lam leads readers on a wordless adventure through extraordinary paper collage illustrations ... Whether shared with preliterate children or in units on imaginative play, this ingenious title will have readers flipping back to the beginning of the story to repeat the adventure."

School Library Journal

"The out-of-this-world exploits of an intrepid explorer propel Lam’s well-paced wordless story ... Careful paper cut-outs succeed in creating drama out of gesture, physical form, and the strangeness of the landscape being traversed."

Publishers Weekly

"Lam has taken a child’s everyday journey from home to school and reimagined that journey as a marvellous adventure when seen through the eyes and imagination of her daughter’s first encounters with snow. Brilliant... One Giant Leap is a must-have book. It is suitable for pre-schoolers and early elementary students but, in reality, it will appeal to people with imaginations, regardless of their age."

Canadian Review of Materials

"The collage illustrations, in a palette dominated by deep blacks and oranges, capture the spirited imagination of a young person at play. An out-of-this-world good time."

Kirkus Reviews

"Thao Lam, known for her complex and meaningful books including The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story and The Line in the Sand, still knows how to do playful. Dressing in a snowsuit and venturing out into the greater universe, this child embarks on an other-worldly adventure, fueled only by imagination."

CanLit for Little Canadians

"Plenty of picture books encourage young readers to go outside and have an adventure, but Thao Lam's wordless and wondrous One Giant Leap raises the bar by presenting an out-of-doors setting that's also out of this world--at least in the mind of one imaginative child."

Shelf Awareness (STARRED REVIEW)