Star Bright

Starred review from September 15, 2014
News travels quickly in the heavens, especially when it involves the arrival of a baby on Earth in late December. The “newest angel” wants to join in the joyous celebration, but she’s stymied when it comes to selecting the right baby gift. Her “aha moment” arrives when she looks down through the vast night sky and sees three “others” on camelback riding through the desert: “They too looked lonely—No, they looked lost!” The angel tumbles down, gathering light along the way, “Until she came to rest exactly where she was needed.” McGhee’s spare, tender language and light-dark imagery exert a powerful pull on the heartstrings. Reynolds’s delicate pen, ink, and watercolor art is accented with gently humorous details (the angel’s aviator goggles, the wise men consulting a map) even as it matches the text’s emotional intensity. Ages 4–8. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

September 1, 2014
This charming addition to the gifts-for-baby-Jesus theme imagines the origin of the bright star shining over Bethlehem at the Nativity. In a futuristic version of heaven with connecting platforms floating in midair and computer display screens, a little female angel and her angel friends ponder the impending birth of a special baby down on Earth. The youngest angel wears a white suit with a long, white coat complementing her feathery wings and a white aviator's cap, googles and scarf that give her the look of an early airplane pilot. She wishes she could give something special to the new baby that would be as comforting as wind, rain or music. When the angel notices that the world below her seems dark and lonely, she decides to remedy that as her gift. She soars off a huge diving board, floating down into the dark sky previously lit by only tiny stars, and transforms into an enormous star that illuminates the entire sky and guides the three Wise Men. The story is told with a light touch and few words, and the charismatic little angel's transformation is a positive development rather than any type of loss. Evocative watercolor illustrations range from imaginative views of heaven with swirls of pink clouds to mysterious, deep purple skies over Bethlehem. Though the protagonist angel is Caucasian, there are darker-skinned angels among the heavenly host. An understated, appealing story with fine integration between the succinct text and imaginative illustrations. (Picture book/religion. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-In the heavens, the angels are excited; a baby is about to be born. There are to be lots of gifts for the infant, but the littlest angel can't figure out what she should give him. Wind? No, that's a gift of the sky. Rain? No, that's a gift of the clouds. Finally, she thinks of the perfect gift for anyone who might be lonely or lost, and she transforms herself into a very bright star in the dark sky. The pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations depict a traditional first Christmas on Earth, with wise men, camels, and shepherds against the backdrop of a dark Bethlehem night. But up in heaven, the angels are multiethnic winged children dressed in long white split-tailed jackets, waistcoats, and culottes, frolicking on shiny platforms and consulting flat-screens on stands to get news from below. The newest angel is a small, red-haired child who sports an old-fashioned pilot's helmet with goggles. Somehow, this works-the angels do indeed look otherworldly, and the winsome style of the illustrations complements the simple, sweet text. A different and quietly charming take on the Christmas story.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Preschool-G The angels in heaven are excited because, as the Herald newspaper puts it, Good News: Prince of Peace on His Way. People on earth are also getting gifts together for the baby, which catches the eye of the newest angel. She would like to bring a present, too. But like the little drummer boy, she seems uncertain as to the suitability of anything she could give. Watching the activity belowspecifically the Magi, who are lostshe realizes that the best gift she can give is light in the darkness. McGhee's text is trim and precise, matched by Reynolds' spare yet expressive illustrations. The angel herself is depicted as a barefooted child in aviator goggles and scarf, and her transformation from sky-diving cherub to Christmas star manages to be dramatic and gentle at the same time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)