Willa and Wade is a simple, accessible graphic novel for young readers. The illustrations are uncluttered, making visual interpretation easier. The vocabulary is accessible, with any more complicated words explained by the characters. The plot is straight-forward, as Willa and Wade make different attempts to fly. Readers will enjoy their descriptions of sensations that approach flight, though the pair is forever seeking the full experience.

Willa and Wade both want to fly. After all, they are birds. But ostriches and penguins don't have the thermodynamics needed to fly. They keep trying, as other bird friends soar. And maybe a little out-of-the-box thinking will help. Willa and Wade try all they can to get into the air, with running starts and slides. They don't give up, no matter how many times they plummet to the ground. Surely even being in the air for a few minutes counts as flying? And so does the time spent together.
I adore this short graphic novel. It understands there are some things we can't change, like wings built for swimming or running, and focuses on what is possible. Willa and Wade's friendship strengthens the more times they fall, and they keep having fun.

This was a pretty good book. Two friends are flightless birds, but they refuse to let this stop them. They want to find some way to reach the sky, and try a lot of different ways to do that. Although each plan fails, they keep on trying new ways to achieve this goal. Just when all hope seems lost, they try one more attempt and this one appears to be a success, at least in their eyes.

This was so cute! It was a lovely short read. Very colourful. Great for kids and great for adults. So sweet.

We follow two friends who are both flightless birds who wanna fly. We get to see them do many different activities to try and get in the air. It's fun to see these two friends not only try to achieve their goal but have fun doing it. I loved their interactions with each other, this book is great for younger kids. It teaches friendship and aiming for goals that seem impossible is ok.

This book is so cute! The characters, Willa and Wade, are so wholesome and the story is a feel-good read. Super heart-warming. I think this would be great for young children to read along with their grown ups and get involved with the engaging illustrations.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher, Kids Can Press, for review purposes. Willa and Wade and the Way-Up There is due to be published on 4th June 2024.

This children’s book is so cute and delightful! I love that Willa and Wade, two flightless and totally different birds, want to fly and find ways to try to fly together. They encourage each other and think outside the box. Very cute!

I was initially drawn to this book because my daughter's name is Willa and I'm that Mom that just finds so much joy in seeing her kid's names in different real-world contexts. Thankfully, that fun little quirk drew me to this adorable book and I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it!

The illustrations are gorgeous, fun, and show Willa and Wade in many silly situations that are sure to have littles in fits of giggles while they listen to the tale of 2 flightless birds who are persistent at learning to fly, despite the many challenges that arise. I particularly enjoy the vocabulary words that children will learn from this uplifting (pun intended) story along with the idea that we do our best learning when we make mistakes and that sometimes, the solution to a problem doesn't always look the way we think it should. I am a mom of 3 kiddos but I also teach preschool to a split class of nine 2 year olds and eight 4 year olds and I can only day dream about the lessons I can build around this story and how I can fit that lesson into so many aspects of our learning.

Another thing that I particularly enjoyed about this story is how the story and dialogue was written. I really enjoyed how the conversations and narration flowed and didn't give "see spot run" vibes. These characters have personalities that lept (wink wink) off the page and that's what every read-aloud book needs to hold the attention of wiggly kiddos.

Giving all the rounds of applause to this author and illustrator for such an aesthetically pleasing and thought provoking story that will surely captivate audiences upon its release.

Cute enough book for kids, not super interesting or meaningful. Nice illustrations. I read this to my kids and they didn’t dislike it, but had no comments on what it meant to them. I understand the message trying to be conveyed, about flightless birds wanting to soar and having to troubleshoot and problem solve. I’ve seen books execute this message better though. Not bad, not great, just an OK solid 3 star kids book .

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Willa and Wade, an ostrich and a penguin, see a bird flying and decide this is what they want to do too. They try various activities to help, such as ballet and swimming and nothing works but it turns out that they have a lovely day together trying. The illustrations in this book were bold and bright and will certainly draw children in. It felt a bit like it was trying to be Elephant and Piggie, but the humour wasn't quite there.

I really liked this story about the friends Willa, an ostrich, and Wade, a penguin. It's really sweet and very fun to read through their adventures with flying, which left me feeling I wish the book was a bit longer to keep reading about them. The illustrations are also wonderful.

Thank you to Net Galley for letting me view and review this story! This was a fun story of two sweet friends. I enjoyed the characters and their problem solving nature as they went on a fun adventure.

An incredibly endearing children's book about two flightless birds, but who want to learn to fly by defying the laws of nature. They try their best, because as birds they have to be able to do it, and they do it very cutely. I was definitely enchanted by the illustrations. The cover alone won me over, and the cuteness of the inside pages only adds to that. I would love to read more about their common adventures.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The cover grabbed my attention for this book, the illustrations are great throughout. This focuses on two friends who want to fly. Willa and Wade who are flightless birds, a penguin and an ostrich. They use their creativity to try different methods to fly. In the end their creativity helps them reach their goal of only for a minute, but then the book just ends. The book itself doesn’t make it clear they are flightless birds, it’s easier to identify the penguin than it is the ostrich. If I was reading this with my child, I would have to summarize it for them as to why the two birds were unable to fly on their own.

Willa is an ostrich (emu?) and Wade is a penguin. Just two flightless birds trying to fly. They try everything they can think of, but aren't successful.

The story has great vocabulary - lift, velocity, grounded, pondering, fleeting.

The illustrations are appealing to younger kids. It's a great early comic/graphic novel. I'd compare this to Narwhal and Jelly in that regard.

That said, the term flightless bird was never discussed and Willa and Wade never wondered WHY they couldn't fly. They never focused one what they were good at or made them special. No lesson was learned, unless you want to discuss determination.

The ending was abrupt and might have made kids think they learned to fly. Younger readers probably wouldn't understand what happened without guidance.

I would have this in my classroom library because I think kids would enjoy it, but I don't think I would use it for instruction unless I specifically had a unit on flightless birds or a unit that used the above mentioned vocabulary.

Cute graphic novel about a penguin and an ostrich trying to fly. I liked their spirits and creative attempts to get lift off and fly. Love the illustrations as well. Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

It is an enjoyable and wholesome graphic novel about Willa (an ostrich) and Wade ( a penguin) two best friends who want to reach the sky and fly. A fantastic graphic novel for young readers it has friendship, persistence, humor, and adventure. I hope to read more.

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was a positive way of showing how if you work hard you can make your dreams come true. I liked the characters in the book. The illustrations weee super cute too.

Very cute graphic novel! This is great for early readers or kiddos who aren't quite ready to make the jump to chapter books. We enjoyed the lighthearted fun.

Willa and Wade, an ostrich and a penguin, really really really want to fly. They know enough about the physics of it to try different ways to help themselves, but they just can't fly on their own. In the end, they achieve their dreams by finding different ways. I thought it was adorable and I was cheering for them the whole time. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this