posted 04-03-2024 06:34 PM               

As Polaris Dawn crewmember, engineer, and mother Anna Menon gets ready to take off into space, she penned this sweet picture book as a love letter to her kids — reimagining their family as a tight-knit clan of adventurous dragons who love each other across any distance!

You see, when we're apart,
we're not really alone.
I'll send kisses from space,
and I'll always come home.

When Anna Menon was offered the chance to become an astronaut on Polaris Dawn, it would fulfill her childhood dream of going to space. But it would also put the largest distance ever between her and her kids. Anna had to consider how she'd connect with her kids as she orbited 870 miles above them at over 15,000 miles per hour.

"Kisses from Space" is the story of a mama dragon coming home from an out-of-this-world adventure and, snuggling her baby dragons close, she tells them of her journey and how she thought of them the entire time. This heartwarming picture book — written in fun, lyrical rhyme and stunningly illustrated — is about the bonds between family members and a mother's unwavering love for her children.

• Hardcover, 40 pages
  
• Random House Books for Young Readers (June 4, 2024)
  
• ISBN-10: 0593811143
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0593811146

posted 09-11-2024 07:43 PM               

Join Polaris Dawn's Anna Menon for an on-orbit reading of her book alongside her family and patients from St. Jude.

Published by Penguin Random House, "Kisses from Space" was authored by Anna Menon and Keri Vasek and was illustrated by Andy Harkness.

After her book reading, Anna and the entire Polaris Dawn crew held a Q&A with St. Jude patients to discuss the crew's ongoing mission.