Space adventure · ages 5–8

Ella and the Stardust Voyage

A little astronaut crosses the planets to save a new friend's fading star.

Example book with fictional characters — not a customer order.

8 pages

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Page 1
Every night Ella watched the sky through the little telescope by her window. That night a star fell, but this time it didn't vanish far away. A sparkling light landed softly beneath the apple tree in the garden. Ella clipped on her star hairclip, slipped on her shoes and tiptoed downstairs. “Falling stars are for wishes,” she whispered, “but I think this one is waving at me!”
Page 2
Under the tree stood a silver rocket no bigger than a toy. When Ella touched it, the rocket grew and grew until its door opened with a soft “whoosh.” Inside were a dashboard, blinking buttons and a spacesuit exactly her size. She tucked the helmet under her arm and took a deep breath. “Mum will want me back by breakfast,” she told herself. “So this had better be a quick trip!”
Page 3
The countdown began: three, two, one… The rocket glided over the rooftops of the town, past the school clock tower and the bakery chimney. Clouds drifted by like cotton. When Ella looked out of the window, the whole city had turned into a tiny toy town full of glowing lights. Her heart was pounding, but not from fear; she had never been so excited in her life.
Page 4
The rocket landed on the Moon with a soft bump. Ella put on her helmet, stepped onto the silver dust and jumped: one, two, three! Here every hop felt like flying. She planted her flag at the edge of a crater. Far away, blue-and-white Earth winked at her. “We look so small from up here,” Ella thought, “but our hearts are enormous.”
Page 5
The next stop was a planet with candy-coloured rings. As soon as Ella climbed out, a tiny round, bright-green creature with big shiny eyes bounced towards her. His name was Pip, and the tips of his antennae glowed. But Pip's eyes were full of tears: “The star lamp that lights our village is fading. We've run out of stardust.” Ella held out her hand at once: “We'll find some together.”
Page 6
The stardust lay beyond the asteroid belt. As the rocket wove between dancing rocks, Pip pointed this way and that: “Left! Now up!” Ella held the controls tight. An asteroid whizzed right past their nose; they both shrieked, then burst out laughing. Even in the scariest moment, fear shrinks when you're together; that was what Ella learned that day.
Page 7
Beyond the belt, a cloud of glittering dust shimmered in the sky. Ella took an empty jar from her pocket and Pip blew the dust into it with his antennae. The jar began to glow like gold. Back in the village they sprinkled the dust into the star lamp. It flickered once, then lit up the whole village as bright as day. The little creatures sang and danced in circles around Ella.
Page 8
Before sunrise, Ella was back in bed. On her nightstand the jar glowed softly with a few pinches of stardust left inside; it was Pip's goodbye present. Looking out of the window, she saw a little star in the sky wink three times. She smiled. At breakfast, when Mum asked, “How did you sleep?”, Ella only said, “As beautifully as the stars.”