This book may entice readers who are interested in the fantasy/adventure genre. The story's main character is Basil, a 12 year old boy who leads a fairly ordinary life in a lighthouse, until a man by the name of Professor Angus McGookin appears in Basil's bedroom window in his flying boat. Basil is whisked away to another place in the clouds called, Helios. Basil finds that this extraordinary place also has some dark secrets. Written by Wiley Miller who is an award-winning cartoonist, this book will attract reluctant readers for the illustrations on each page, combined with the larger text format.

Age Appropriateness: Primary, Intermediate
Genre: Science Fiction
Media: Pen and Watercolor
Review: This is the story of a young boy named Basil who thinks that his life is too ordinary and boring, so he wishes for an adventure and an adventure he gets. He is picked up in this floating boat machine with a professor in it. They go off into this city floating on the clouds, called, Helios, or Atlantis, where he makes a friend and they go on an adventure of a lifetime together. They go off on her pet flying dinosaur and get lost where they should not have been in the first place. Their adventure continues and is very interesting, but I won't give it all away. This book is very good at using imagination to get the reader involved in the story. It also has some deeper meaning things or connections that could be made for older students to think about. This story is science fiction because of all the things that happen in it that are not possible and break the laws of science, such as having a city on top of the clouds. ( )