I was sure this was going to be A Wrinkle in Time or The Phantom Tollbooth.
But since it wasn't either of those, The Mouse and the Motorcycle was a good alternative. One of my elementary school teachers read that (and other books from the series?) in class when I was a kid, and it was wonderful.
OK time for you to go (re)read A Wrinkle in Time for the best literary approach to this sort of metaphor.
Later in our exploration of New Age Metaphors Mapping to Contemporary Religion we can talk about Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
You are love.