One night, something round and orange and extremely out of breath knocked on David's window. It was holding a book. An enormous book. A book so big it had its own weather.
"David! Emergency!" it puffed. "I'm Obooga, and I've started the most AMAZING story ever. Listen: 'Once, a brave astronaut named David climbed into a rocket, because—'"
So David zipped up the shiniest spacesuit in the garage, and the story finally had a beginning... A mysterious signal is coming from deep space... and it sounds like singing..
"Every astronaut needs a ship!" said Obooga. "I drew three. I am VERY proud of one of them, and it is not the one you think."
Obooga christened the Comet Cricket by bonking a juice box against the hull. There was juice everywhere. It was perfect.
"I'll do the countdown!" said Obooga. "Ten! Nine! Eight! ...what comes after eight? WHILE I THINK, David, whatever you do, do NOT touch the big red button."
The button was very big. And very red. And very touched. The Comet Cricket went off like a firework in a sock drawer... spinning past the moon, past the planets, past a very surprised satellite... completely, wonderfully off course.
The Comet Cricket jolted to a stop. Up ahead, a wormhole had tangled itself into an enormous glowing KNOT. And out of that knot came tumbling... a tiny book. Then two purple horns. Then a very fluffy, very blue somebody.
“Dear wormhole: kindly untangle your wiggly knot, so this magnificent grandma can sneeze straight through you.” And with that extremely silly sentence, Maxalooey took the deepest breath a small fluffy person can take... and read it to the wormhole. The wormhole listened. The wormhole wiggled. Then the wormhole LAUGHED so hard it came completely untangled... and three glittering paths swung open.
The Comet Cricket landed... SPLOMP... in a lake of pink taffy. David climbed out carefully. Obooga did not. "I'm not stuck," said Obooga, who was entirely stuck. "This is just how I stand now."
And then David heard it... the singing. Closer now. Coming from behind a hill of marshmallow boulders.
"Wait. Shhh. SHHHH." Obooga went very still (he had no choice). "Something is coming. And I have NEVER seen anything like it in ANY story. Which means only YOU know what it looks like."
“a mysterious creature”
Obooga drew this part himself. (He's still learning.)
And there it stood, exactly as David said: a mysterious creature
The creature wasn't scary at all. It was the one who had been singing... and up close, the song wasn't spooky. It was sad. "It's been calling across the whole galaxy," whispered David. "And nobody ever answered. Until now."
"Everyone got it WRONG," said David. "They saw the one weird thing about it and zoomed away before they learned the truth. Nobody ever stayed long enough." "Well, WE'RE staying," declared Obooga, underlining it on the chalkboard. "We need a PLAN. Step one: we show the whole galaxy who The Creature really is. Step two... step two..."
And when it was written on the chalkboard at last... Use the one weird thing about The Creature — the thing everyone got wrong — as its greatest strength.... it was, Obooga declared, "the finest Step Two in the history of steps."
The plan worked. It ALMOST worked. It worked right up until the taffy lake let go of Obooga all at once... and everything went flying.
“the Comet Cricket does something no ship has ever done before”
Obooga drew this part himself. (He's still learning.)
And then... the part nobody saw coming, not even Obooga: the Comet Cricket does something no ship has ever done before
And that... the moment the Comet Cricket did something no ship had ever done before... was how everything changed. And just like that, the way was open.
Because of David's plan... and the twist nobody saw coming... the whole galaxy finally understood The Creature. The one weird thing wasn't weird anymore. It was famous.
So it ended quietly, the best way... warm cocoa, heavy eyelids, and far above the roof, a small strange shape waving goodnight.
The End
Three stories starring David
- “David and the Whispering Sea” — an ocean story
- “David and the Backwards Comet” (you're reading it) — a space adventure
- “The Jungle That Waited for David” — a jungle story
David can write the next one.
These stories came from Obooga's studio — where kids make every decision and finish a real book in about 20 minutes. Free to make and share; hardcover keepsake optional.
Start David's story →Questions grown-ups ask
Are there any stories with David in them?
Yes — three free illustrated stories star David as the main character: “David and the Whispering Sea” (an ocean story), “David and the Backwards Comet” (a space adventure), and “The Jungle That Waited for David” (a jungle story). And in Obooga's story studio, David can write a brand-new one — their own decisions, their own book.
Is this David story free?
Yes — this story, and every story made in the Obooga studio, is free to read and share. The printed hardcover keepsake is optional ($37).
Can David write a story too?
That's the whole idea. In about 20 minutes in the story studio, David makes every creative decision — the places, the creature, the plan, the twist, the title — and finishes a real illustrated book with their name on the byline.
Is Obooga safe for kids?
Every story world is human-written and every illustration human-reviewed. No child accounts, no ads, no strangers. Everything a child types passes moderation. AI is used only in narrow, guarded moments — smoothing the child's own words, speaking their name aloud, and drawing the one picture they describe.