Atlas

Who would have suspected the power of bubble gum? Atlas is bored. It's raining, so he sits inside, chewing a gumball. He blows a bubble and imagines that it is Australia. Then the stove becomes a Chinese dragon; the fridge is Antarctica, inhabited by penguins; the bathtub melts away into the Seven Seas; and the piano turns into an African elephant. Atlas even visits medieval England and Outer Space!In this, his first book, Paul Montpellier aims "to interest children in the world outside their own environment, and the pleasures involved in imagination and bubble gum." Atlas is a creative, unusual introduction to geography for all ages. The story is simply told for beginning readers, and it is also a good read-aloud book. Montpellier's beautiful, humourous, full-colour illustrations make Atlas a fascinating visual experience.