Though little Marco’s mother keeps asking him to keep his hand inside the car while it’s moving, he can’t resist the temptation. Soon he is sucked out the window and soars up to the clouds, greeting birds, all led by his flying hand. When Marco makes it all the way to outer space and sees an alien spaceship, he decides it’s all a bit too scary and wants to go home. He points himself back down and tumbles back into the moving car, with his family none the wiser. The rhyming text and bright, cartoonish illustrations full of fantastical details such as helium balloons in space make it clear that it’s Marco’s imagination that is really taking the trip. VERDICT A slight but pleasant tale about a common childhood fascination.