“The first time I saw Audrey, I almost didn’t.” This intriguing sentence begins a story of enlightenment and finding friendship in unexpected places. One summer, bereft of his usual friends, Ray encounters a strange girl engaged in all manner of odd activities – sending signals with a kite, training grasshoppers, lying very still on the grass. So bizarre is Audrey’s behaviour that Ray concludes she must be an alien creature visiting Earth. Excited and curious, he follows Audrey around town and joins in some of her escapades. As their relationship deepens, Ray is surprised at the wonder he feels seeing the world through Audrey’s eyes. Inevitably, the summer passes and Audrey departs, but not without leaving an indelible impression on Ray’s imagination.

Toronto author Susan Hughes’ first picture book captures the spare, matter-of-fact voice of a young boy whose world is based on the immediate and uncomplicated. But Hughes’ skill as a writer allows moments of gentle humour and poetic insight to creep into the text, signifying Ray’s growing awareness of Audrey’s influence and the inherent magic of the planet he inhabits. In a particularly effective passage, Ray and Audrey watch her brother spin a basketball on his fingertip, prompting Audrey to equate it to Earth rotating on its axis. Audrey wonders when and why Earth chose to spin in the first place. Ray remembers the moment: “The ball twirled forever as we watched. Days and months and years passed. Aliens can make you see the future.”

Stéphane Poulin, highly acclaimed two-time winner of the Governor General’s Award for illustration, brilliantly interprets Hughes’ language and tone. His oil paintings have a surreal stillness to them, as if to reinforce the concept of an isolated magical summer. With imaginative vantage points and perspective, quirky detail (watch for alien clues throughout), and a glowing palette, Poulin subtly and sensitively reveals Audrey and Ray’s growing connection. Without spoiling any of its impact, the final image does indeed speak the proverbial “thousand words,” evoking for readers that rare moment when you realize things have changed forever.

Earth to Audrey begs to be revisited again and again, not only for its superior design and eloquence, but also for its celebration of the extraordinary moments of ordinary life.