Pistes d'exploration

Based on the cover page, what do you think might this story be about? Think of synonyms for the expression “Earth to . . . .” What do you think Audrey might be contemplating?

What is the big idea or message being conveyed by the author? How do the illustrations help you understand the story? Find images used to illustrate the ideas in the text.

List ways in which Ray and Audrey demonstrate tolerance, acceptance and open-mindedness. Think about your friends. How do you complement one another?

Discuss the similarities and differences between the illustrations on the first and last pages. Write a sequel about Ray and the two boys.

Take a picture walk: tell the story using the pictures only, without reading any text. Listen to the story read aloud. Compare how the story differs from one method to the other.

Use a character map graphic organizer to describe Audrey and Ray’s contact with Earth.

Go back through the story and find evidence showing that Ray believes Audrey is an alien. Find the expressions he uses to talk about her. How might you be perceived as different? Practise using these expressions.

Find language expressions that confirm that a friendship has developed between Ray and Audrey, even though they are different. Use these expressions to talk about your own friend.

Mr. Flux, Augustine

Mots-clés

Picture book , discovery , dreams , friendship , individuality , moving (household) , summer

Commentaire descriptif

The first time Ray sees Audrey around his neighbourhood, he almost misses her. Everything about Audrey is a bit odd. Ray thinks she might even be an alien. As the pair become fast friends, the free-spirited girl takes him on a journey of discovery that teaches him to see the Earth as a place filled with indescribable wonder. Told from Ray’s point of view, the narrative has a poetic quality, especially in a climactic scene in which the chance meeting of the children is compared to the Big Bang Theory. “. . . lying on the lawn, joined at the head like an earthbound star,” he recalls life before and after their meeting: “Nothing and then something.” Perceptive readers might pick up on the wordplay associated with the characters’ names: Ray and “Odd Ray.” Luminous oil paintings capture the mood and magical moments of summer. Images range from realistic, treed scenes of the outdoors to surreal ones of the pair balancing upside down on a basketball. A beautiful story of friendship that demonstrates how having friends different from yourself can open up worlds of possibility.