ludwig the space dog

"Every night, Ludwig dreamed of zooming past cheese moons and sausage planets. He always woke up hungry in the morning." And so we meet Ludwig, a dog who lives in books but dreams of exploring beyond the page. I'm willing to bet his is a story quite unlike any you've ever seen!

There's a lot going on in this picture book, written by Henning Löhlein and published by Kane Miller. For one thing, it's 3D - and comes with its own space goggles, stored in an envelope attached to the inside cover. Put on the space goggles, and the book really does come alive... deep shadows, crinkled paper, feathers falling from the air... and, of course, cheese moons and sausage planets! The multidimensional illustrations are even more meaningful when you realize they create contrast between Ludwig's world, which is made of paper, and his imagination, which is anything but.

The basic story here is that Ludwig wants to be an explorer. He reads books on how to fly, about birds, about rockets. He tries all sorts of ways to fly, but they all fail. Just when he contemplates giving up, BANG! a (3D) rocket crashes into Ludwig's world. Out steps a penguin, an explorer! The penguin is upset because his rocket engine is damaged, and he doesn't know how to fix it. Fortunately, Ludwig has read all about engines, so he can fix it. In gratitude, the penguin explorer invites Ludwig to explore with him, so off he goes!

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Two of my favorite aspects of this book - besides the fact that it's wonderfully fresh and engaging because of its 3D-ness - is that (a) Ludwig reads because he's curious about how things work, and (b) his ideas fail a lot. Kids should see failure left and right so they realize it's natural, happens to everyone, and leads to greatness. And space lemons.

It's that book that literally jumps off the page to reinforce the power of imagination.

Here's a quick preview of the book!

Book benefits:

• Um, 3D?? Automatic win right there :) 
• The plot encourages imagination and trial and error to test new ideas
• Illustrations are a combination of sketches and paper cutouts from old reference books and maps, which will spark curiosity and conversation on their own
• Reading with more than one explorer? I can get you extra sets of 3D glasses!
• If you like Ludwig, get ready for his underwater exploration, set to be published in October!

Buy Ludwig the Space Dog here! ($12.99, hardcover)