Read Me a Story, Stella

September 1, 2013

K-Gr 3-Stella and her little brother, Sam, return for another outing. This time they spend the day gliding from one activity to another with their trusty dog, Fred. They go from building a doghouse to a picnic by the pond to watering the garden to enjoying the rising of the Moon to a bedtime story. The one constant is Stella's reading and her allusions to well-known stories, including "The Three Little Pigs" and "Stone Soup." Gay's mainly watercolor illustrations perfectly capture a lazy summer day. She sneaks in lots of detail without being fussy, gets facial expressions just right, and really brings her text to life. There are no surprises compared to her previous "Stella and Sam" books, and that's a good thing. This low-key story of sibling love, nature, fun activities, subtle humor, and reading is a winner on all fronts.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2013
This daylong idyll depicts the sweetest of sibling relationships, with big sister Stella indulging and guiding little brother Sam in child-sized flights of fancy. When Sam hauls a wagon loaded with sticks and scrap lumber onto the page and announces he's building a doghouse for Fred, she doesn't rain on his parade, she just settles down to read while he gets to work. "Does your book tell you how to build a doghouse?" he asks after a bit. "No," she says. "But I can help you." Throughout a day that includes a picnic by the pond, kite flying, tending the garden and gazing at the clouds, Stella reads and talks to Sam about her books. But despite Stella's invitations, he's not interested in being read to till nighttime, when "Fred can't sleep" and needs a story. Stella is happy to oblige. Her low-pressure approach to sharing her evident love of books is wisely intuitive, allowing Sam the space to come to it on his own. Gay's watercolor, pencil, pastel and collage illustrations fill each scene with a riot of details for children to pore over again and again. On one page, a bunny reads Stella's book while she helps Sam with the doghouse; on another, two birds and a caterpillar share space on a makeshift clothesline with Stella's wet socks. Stella's wild, red mop of curls seems to have enough energy to power several states. A perfect summer's day bound in 32 pages. (Picture book. 3-5)

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July 15, 2013
After a four-year hiatus, Gay’s redheaded heroine returns in a subdued summer adventure. As in previous installments, younger brother Sam has plenty of questions for his sister, and Stella has answers at the ready. “Do you think a wolf could blow Fred’s doghouse down?” Sam asks after they build a cozy, ramshackle structure. “A tornado couldn’t blow this house down,” Stella replies. The story is somewhat episodic, with no real emotional highs or lows, as the siblings visit a pond, fly a kite, spend time in a garden, and look at the clouds; along the way, Stella’s ample supply of books informs their conversations. Ages 2–5.