How The Stars Came To Be (Hardback)

Product Information

Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first. When I encountered Poonam Mistry's art for the first time in You're Snug with Me, I knew I had found a new favorite illustrator and quickly tracked down all her books in my library district.

How the Stars Came to Be is a beautifully illustrated new folk tale, showing us a new way to look up at the night sky. With many a children's book the text is placed almost randomly on the page ruining the power of the illustrations. Bring out all the adjectives and accolades for the visually-stunning illustrations in this picture book. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.I'm not sure I would give five stars to the story itself, but with the illustrations I really can't do anything but give a five star rating. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods. In the upper grades of third through fifth, this would be more suitable as a read aloud but it could also be used for independent reading.

Mistry incorporates her Indian roots into her art, and draws from Indian folklore to create this tale. This beautifully illustrated story gives us a new folk tale, and a new way to look up at the night sky. The daughter of a fisherman worries about her father when he is out in his boat at night, so is thankful to the moon for lighting his way. The fisherman’s daughter loved to dance in the sunlight, and bathe in the glow of the moon, but when the moon would disappear for a few nights each month, she would worry about her father and how he would find his way home from sea in the deep darkness.Her style incorporates her love of nature and her Indian roots and explores the relationships between pattern, shapes and colour. Since the main idea in most folklore pieces is clear and focused, this could be used in a grade like third grade when they are just beginning to refine their comprehension strategies. Each page is rich with detail and there are some amazing spreads, my favourite, one with all the animal shapes in the stars she has placed. When the Sun finds her sobbing one morning, he offers her a way to ensure that there will always be light in the darkness. It reminds me of a mix of traditional art from different cultures: I can see Indian Mehndi style influences, patterns that resemble West African cloth, and details on the animals that remind be of Australian Indigenous art also.