Mallory and the Power Boy

"Pete Marlowe's unstoppable imagination is matched by Cindy Revell's magical illustrations. Cindy captures the charm and electricity of Pete's story. A fantastical story full of the wonder of dark nights and bright storms "

Mallory dances all over her house to the tune of the rain outside. When the thunder pounds and the lights go out, Mallory gets ready for bed by candlelight. Lying in bed in the darkness, she sees a flash of light outside her window. Mallory peeks out just in time to spot a boy tumbling down a long staircase of lightning to land with a bump outside her house.

Mallory sneaks outside and they introduce themselves. He is the Power Boy and is in charge of all the power that lives in the sky. But the Power Boy is in trouble: with the wild storm, the power has escaped. Together they set off, up into the sky, to gather it up again.

Amongst the stars and the clouds, the Power Boy tells Mallory about all the ingredients he needs to make power. The cold, for running refrigerators and freezers, is found in the snow clouds. Water for washing comes from the fluffy balls of rain clouds. The heat for houses has to be retrieved from the sun itself. They gather light from the stars. Flipping Mallory's umbrella upside down, they add one ingredient at a time, stirring them all together, and tossing in some wind for good measure.

When all the elements are mixed, songs erupt -- and the power is back, brewing and circling in Mallory's umbrella With a flash from his hand the Power Boy creates a new lightning staircase and Mallory bids him goodbye.

The next morning, when Mallory's mother tries the lights - they work "I bet they were working all night to fix it," she comments. And Mallory knows how right she is