One night, something round and orange and extremely out of breath knocked on Elijah's window. It was holding a book. An enormous book. A book so big it had its own weather.
"Elijah! Emergency!" it puffed. "I'm Obooga, and I've started the most AMAZING story ever. Listen: 'Once, a brave astronaut named Elijah climbed into a rocket, because—'"
So Elijah 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 Sky Whale 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, Elijah, whatever you do, do NOT touch the big red button."
The button was very big. And very red. And very touched. The Sky Whale 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 Sky Whale 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 Sky Whale landed... SPLOMP... in a lake of pink taffy. Elijah 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 Elijah 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 Elijah 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 Elijah. "And nobody ever answered. Until now."
"Everyone got it WRONG," said Elijah. "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.
“Creature's one weird thing turns out to be exactly what saves everyone”
Obooga drew this part himself. (He's still learning.)
And then... the part nobody saw coming, not even Obooga: Creature's one weird thing turns out to be exactly what saves everyone
And that... the moment Creature's one weird thing turned out to be exactly what saved everyone... was how everything changed. And just like that, the way was open.
Because of Elijah'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 Elijah
- “Elijah and the Bashful Bubbles” — an ocean story
- “The Moon That Followed Elijah Home” (you're reading it) — a space adventure
- “Elijah's Upside-Down River” — a jungle story
Elijah 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 Elijah's story →Questions grown-ups ask
Are there any stories with Elijah in them?
Yes — three free illustrated stories star Elijah as the main character: “Elijah and the Bashful Bubbles” (an ocean story), “The Moon That Followed Elijah Home” (a space adventure), and “Elijah's Upside-Down River” (a jungle story). And in Obooga's story studio, Elijah can write a brand-new one — their own decisions, their own book.
Is this Elijah 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 Elijah write a story too?
That's the whole idea. In about 20 minutes in the story studio, Elijah 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.