Stars
Alethea Allarey
Written by Mary Lyn Rae
Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Beach Lane Books, 2011
2013-2014 Nominee - Primary
Synopsis
Mary Lyn Ray’s simple, spare, lyrical language combines with Marla Frazee’s whimsical and expressive art to create a truly unique book. A blend of poetry, science, and art, Stars celebrates the beauty of those tiny, sparkling lights in our night sky—stars. From the moment the first stars begin to twinkle, stars bring joy and invite us to contemplate the magnitude and mystery of our universe. But this book is about more than a distant object that fills us with wonder; it also is a book that quietly celebrates the beauty within each of us.
Stars encourages us to nurture our inner spirit by holding stars close, creating stars, or finding them in nature. Mary Lyn Ray knows that thinking of stars warms our hearts and makes us smile, and Marla Frazee brings Ms. Ray’s wisdom to life by giving us a wonderful cast of children who experience the magic of stars.
Meet the Author
Mary Lyn Rae’s beautiful and poetic writing is inspired by her passion for nature. She is the author of several children’s books, including Christmas Farm, Pumpkins: A Story for a Field, Shaker Boy, and Welcome, Brown Bird, as well as a conservationist. In her stories, she celebrates how nature enriches our daily lives. Mary Lyn Ray lives with her dog on a 150-year-old farmhouse—that she restored herself!--in South Danbury, New Hampshire.
Meet the Illustrator
Even as a child, Marla Frazee’s talent as an illustrator was recognized when the first book she illustrated in third grade went on to win awards in a statewide competition. She received a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and following her graduation, she took a variety of jobs that would allow her to practice her art. She worked in advertising and educational publishing. Some of her best-known commercial illustrations included the illustrations for McDonald’s Happy Meals and characters for the National Football League.
Eventually, she started illustrating children’s books, and in 1997 she first received widespread acclaim as an illustrator of children’s books when she illustrated The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman. Her fame as an illustrator has continued to grow in the industry since that time, and she has received two Caldecott Honor Awards for A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (2009; a book she wrote as well as illustrated) and All the World by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon. She is the illustrator of the Clementine series for Sara Pennypacker. In addition to her work illustrating children’s books, Frazee is the author and illustrator of five books. Frazee currently lives in southern California with her husband and three sons. She enjoys working in her backyard in a studio nestled under an avocado tree.
To learn more about her amazing books, visit her website at www.marlafrazee.com.
Hooks
- What do you know about stars?
- What do they really look like?
- Have you ever noticed stars in nature?
- Can looking at a star or thinking about a star make you happy?
Connections
Nonfiction
A Black Hole is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DiCristofano, Charlesbridge,
2012.
Living Sunlight: How the Sun Gives Us Light by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm, Blue Sky Press, 2009.
Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations by Jacqueline Minton, National Geographic, 2009.
A Star in My Orange: Looking for Nature’s Shapes by Dana Meachen Rau, Millbrook Press, 2002.
Super Stars: The Biggest, Hottest, Brightest, and Most Explosive Stars in the Galaxy by David A. Aguilar, 2010.
Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? by Robert E. Wells, Albert Whitman, 2010.
Fiction
Picture Books
Comet, Stars, the Moon and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian, Harcourt, 2007.
How the Stars Fell Into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton, Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
The Magic School Bus Sees Stars: A Book About Stars, Scholastic, 1999.
Stories From the Stars: Greek Myths of the Zodiac, Abbeville Kids, 1996.
They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths by Jean Guarde Monroe and Ray A. Williamson.
Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson, Dutton 1985.
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton, National Geographic Society, 1998.
Chapter Books
Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass, Little, Brown & Company, 2008.
Blackout by John Rocco, Disney/Hyperion Books, 2011.
Have You Filled A Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud, Feme Press, 2006.
Reach for the Stars: Advice for Life’s Journey by Serge Bloch, Sterling Publishing Company, 2010.
Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, Kids Can Press, 2012
For more information, please check the 2013-2014 Resource Guide - Primary.