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To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here

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Hardcover
$18.99 US
8.28"W x 11.26"H x 0.42"D   | 15 oz | 20 per carton
On sale Oct 07, 2025 | 56 Pages | 9780823459858
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3

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additional book photo
additional book photo
This book is an interstellar portal, and the aliens inside want to get to know you!

Before you lift the cover, be sure you’re ready to meet Zrk and Blrg. They’re not so different from you—but to them, you’re the alien!

After their initial shock at seeing you through the portal, they’re eager to see what kind of teeth you have, compare home planets, and maybe team up for a prank. You met as aliens, but by the time the portal closes, maybe you’ll be friends. 

To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here is an interactive treat sure to delight young galactic explorers. Antoinette Portis’s bright lines and bold colors pair perfectly with humor that also offers a subtle message of acceptance. Whether for bedtime or circle time, this is a portal you’ll want to open!
[A] meta intergalactic romp. . . . The brightly colored, heavily black-outlined characters take center stage in Portis’s eye-catching and varied compositions, as do their playful personalities. . . . The clever premise stands up to repeat readings—power up this interactive adventure for out-of-this-world storytimes.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Will generate a lot of giggles. . . . Thickly outlined in black, the bold illustrations will show well to a large storytime. Portis provides extreme close-ups that give the artwork a surreal, Cubist feeling. . . .Zany, out-of-this-world fun.
—Kirkus Reviews

[A] speculative metafictional romp. . . .Portis (A New Green Day) has cooked up something wonderfully weird and slyly relevant—both an interactive experience and a comic reminder that perspective is relative.
—Publishers Weekly
Antoinette Portis is the author of many inventive books for children, including Not a Box, Hey, Water!, A New Green Day, and A Seed Grows. Her work has received a Sibert Honor and two Geisel Honors, as well as multiple Best Book of the Year designations. A recipient of the prestigious Sendak Fellowship, she lives in Southern California. Visit her at Antoinetteportis.com.

Book Trailer

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

About

This book is an interstellar portal, and the aliens inside want to get to know you!

Before you lift the cover, be sure you’re ready to meet Zrk and Blrg. They’re not so different from you—but to them, you’re the alien!

After their initial shock at seeing you through the portal, they’re eager to see what kind of teeth you have, compare home planets, and maybe team up for a prank. You met as aliens, but by the time the portal closes, maybe you’ll be friends. 

To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here is an interactive treat sure to delight young galactic explorers. Antoinette Portis’s bright lines and bold colors pair perfectly with humor that also offers a subtle message of acceptance. Whether for bedtime or circle time, this is a portal you’ll want to open!

Praise

[A] meta intergalactic romp. . . . The brightly colored, heavily black-outlined characters take center stage in Portis’s eye-catching and varied compositions, as do their playful personalities. . . . The clever premise stands up to repeat readings—power up this interactive adventure for out-of-this-world storytimes.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Will generate a lot of giggles. . . . Thickly outlined in black, the bold illustrations will show well to a large storytime. Portis provides extreme close-ups that give the artwork a surreal, Cubist feeling. . . .Zany, out-of-this-world fun.
—Kirkus Reviews

[A] speculative metafictional romp. . . .Portis (A New Green Day) has cooked up something wonderfully weird and slyly relevant—both an interactive experience and a comic reminder that perspective is relative.
—Publishers Weekly

Author

Antoinette Portis is the author of many inventive books for children, including Not a Box, Hey, Water!, A New Green Day, and A Seed Grows. Her work has received a Sibert Honor and two Geisel Honors, as well as multiple Best Book of the Year designations. A recipient of the prestigious Sendak Fellowship, she lives in Southern California. Visit her at Antoinetteportis.com.

Media

Book Trailer