The Spark in Me

Look inside
A young girl sees the world differently in this beautiful picture book exploration of physics.

Everyone has their thing. Some people are dreamers. Some people are practical. Some people like to invent things. Our heroine isn't sure what her thing is. But she knows she has a lot of questions, like could she be faster than her own echo? If she built a giant paper boat, could she sail the sea? And how strong would she need to be to launch another kid into orbit from a teeter-totter? Eventually, she learns that all her questions have to do with one thing: physics!

In this thoughtful and gorgeous ode to the search for knowledge and finding one's passion, phsyics becomes a way for our heroine to ponder the magic of the world.
Award-winning artist MIGUEL TANCO is a children's book author and illustrator. He teaches illustration and organizes creative workshops for kids in Spain, where he was born and raised, and in Italy. He has published over forty children's books including The Spark in Me, My Best Friend; Count on Me; Great Dog; You and Me, Me and You; Les Farfelus; and The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac. He lives in Milan with his wife, Federica, and their two sons, Pablo and Javier. View titles by Miguel Tanco
  • HONOR | 2025
    Mathical Book Prize
"An inventive way to link posing questions with looking for answers." Kirkus Reviews

"This book is an endorsement for readers to take a look around, question the world around them, and seek knowledge wherever they go." School Library Journal

"Just as poetry was the spark that released James Earl Jones’s voice, and Edward Gorey’s imagination prompted his unique art, curiosity is the spark that drives the child in Miguel Tanco’s book. Filled with questions (‘If water is transparent, why is snow white?’; ‘If the galaxy is packed with stars, why is it so dark?’; ‘Is it possible to be faster than an echo?’), the child voices them in class and his teacher takes him to the library, where all his questions can be answered and where he can transform his dreams ‘into something real.’" —Montreal Gazette

"Miguel Tanco inhabits the world of children, consumed with both excitement and their sense of initiative, as they steer a course towards knowledge of the world." Imaginary Elevators
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

About

A young girl sees the world differently in this beautiful picture book exploration of physics.

Everyone has their thing. Some people are dreamers. Some people are practical. Some people like to invent things. Our heroine isn't sure what her thing is. But she knows she has a lot of questions, like could she be faster than her own echo? If she built a giant paper boat, could she sail the sea? And how strong would she need to be to launch another kid into orbit from a teeter-totter? Eventually, she learns that all her questions have to do with one thing: physics!

In this thoughtful and gorgeous ode to the search for knowledge and finding one's passion, phsyics becomes a way for our heroine to ponder the magic of the world.

Author

Award-winning artist MIGUEL TANCO is a children's book author and illustrator. He teaches illustration and organizes creative workshops for kids in Spain, where he was born and raised, and in Italy. He has published over forty children's books including The Spark in Me, My Best Friend; Count on Me; Great Dog; You and Me, Me and You; Les Farfelus; and The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac. He lives in Milan with his wife, Federica, and their two sons, Pablo and Javier. View titles by Miguel Tanco

Awards

  • HONOR | 2025
    Mathical Book Prize

Praise

"An inventive way to link posing questions with looking for answers." Kirkus Reviews

"This book is an endorsement for readers to take a look around, question the world around them, and seek knowledge wherever they go." School Library Journal

"Just as poetry was the spark that released James Earl Jones’s voice, and Edward Gorey’s imagination prompted his unique art, curiosity is the spark that drives the child in Miguel Tanco’s book. Filled with questions (‘If water is transparent, why is snow white?’; ‘If the galaxy is packed with stars, why is it so dark?’; ‘Is it possible to be faster than an echo?’), the child voices them in class and his teacher takes him to the library, where all his questions can be answered and where he can transform his dreams ‘into something real.’" —Montreal Gazette

"Miguel Tanco inhabits the world of children, consumed with both excitement and their sense of initiative, as they steer a course towards knowledge of the world." Imaginary Elevators

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more