The Stuff of Stars
5.0
3
5
1
Hardcover
USD
16.19
$16.19
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780763678838 |
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| Publisher: | Candlewick Press |
| Publication date: | 09/04/2018 |
| Pages: | 40 |
| Sales rank: | 78,225 |
| Product dimensions: | 10.30(w) x 11.60(h) x 0.60(d) |
| Age Range: | 4 - 8 Years |
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Customer Reviews
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The Stuff of Stars
5 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
3 reviews.
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The Stuff of Stars is about stardust. It’s also about birth, both of the universe and each of us. We’ve know, for a very long time, that everything is composed of atoms and molecules. More recently, we’ve learned that the source of those atoms and molecules is the stars above. We are of the Earth, of course, but we and it are more literally connected to the stars and the cosmos than we had thought, not so long ago.
Along with many others, I find that idea incredibly romantic. If you are hoping to convey that feeling to someone of more youthful stardust, reading The Stuff of Stars together, would be a satisfying experience. In it’s lyrical pages are where those atoms and molecules—that stuff of the stars—becomes more stars and planets, mountains and oceans, giraffes and snails, parent and child, you and me.
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*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.*
This book is absolutely stunning. Each page is an explosion of color and wonderful to look at. This is a picture book for children of all ages–very young children will love all the colors in the pictures. Young children will enjoy the story of the universe and the message that we are all made of the same stuff as stars.
The Stuff of Stars is a beautiful book that’s a great introduction to how the universe was made and how the earth, animals, and humans came into being. Really, it shows children that they are connected to life and the universe, so it’s a great start on teaching them about all the different types of species that live or have lived on our planet. This would fit nicely into a teacher’s unit on science as an introduction, or even in an art unit to show how abstract art can still tell a story. The words themselves are lyrical without being overly poetic or having a particular rhyme scheme, but there’s a definite rhythm to the story itself.
Highly recommend! I’m looking forward to gifting a few young relatives with this book this Christmas, myself.
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"In the dark,
in the dark,
in the deep, deep dark,
a speck floated,"
and so begins an amazing story that spans from the beginning of the universe to the birth of a beloved child. The text is deeply descriptive and poetic as it describes the "BANG!" and everything that follows. First is the collision of matter within clouds of gas, then there are stars, explosions, and the gradual formation of planets. Then come the mitochondria (I feel the presence of Meg and Charles Wallace when I see that word), and daisies. And eventually there is another speck, "invisible as dreams, special as Love." A speck that grows and becomes a child that can take "a big breath of the same air once breathed by woolly mammoths."
The illustrations by Ekua Holmes capture the beauty and power of the text in amazing hand-marbled paper and collage. The beginning shows the white speck in the vast emptiness of black, grey, and dark purple. The first instant of change fills the page with a violent splash of color in the midst of a yellowy orange like the summer sun. When Marion writes of stars "flinging stardust everywhere," Ekua fills the spread with a fireworks display of reds, oranges, and yellows fanning out. And when we read about - "the singing whales, the larks, the frogs" - we see those shapes circling around a greenish blue ball that seems to be the planet we all share. We are all of us "the stuff of stars."
This book is something that readers of all ages can enjoy. Youngsters may be captivated by the lyrical phrases and the amazing colors, reading and rereading as they look for images of lions and larks. Older students may use this as a mentor text in how to write descriptive phrases that capture the imagination and inspire the reader. Art classes can marvel at the complex arrangement of the elements and the color choices used to mirror the words so well.
It will also become one of those books that are a go-to gift for baby showers, and perhaps graduation gifts. Who wouldn't be flattered to have their bundle of joy compared to the magnificence of that very first speck of possibility floating in the cosmos? And what graduate wouldn't love to feel the power of knowing they are a being made of stardust?
I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of the book for review purposes and everyone I know will hear all about it. Highly recommended for all readers!
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