A Path of Stars

December 19, 2011
Commissioned by the Maine Humanities Council, O’Brien (the Jamaica books) pens a tale about a Cambodian-American family, beginning with vibrant scenes of food and celebration, as young narrator Dara shares her grandmother’s reminiscences about life in her Asian homeland. “n Cambodia, the air is so soft and warm that the stars glow like fireflies,” says Lok Yeay. The upbeat mood changes when Lok Yeay recalls “a day the birds stopped singing, a day the soldiers came.” Grandmother’s story does not go into graphic detail, but recounts that only she, her brother, and her baby daughter survived to walk to freedom in Thailand.
A star motif permeates: the siblings use stars to guide their escape, and Dara, which means star, gently leads her grandmother out of grief when the family gets news of her brother’s death. Fuzzy-edged oil illustrations add a comfortable, familial feel that softens the story’s sadder elements. However, plenty of bright images are interspersed, and the narrative ends on a hopeful note. Many themes are woven into this book, but the value of family stands above the rest. Ages 5–8. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

March 1, 2012
Grades 2-4 Dara loves to hear Lok Yeay (grandmother) reminisce about her childhood in Cambodia, and they both hope of one day visiting the faraway country and seeing her grandmother's brother, Lok Ta. But not all of Lok Yeay's stories are happy ones; she also tells about losing most of her family in the war and her desperate escape to a refugee camp. When Lok Yeay receives sad news about Lok Ta, Dara calls upon her family's traditions and Lok Yeay's own stories to offer the grieving woman comfort. O'Brien's detailed, affecting text skims over the trauma of Lok Yeay's wartime experience, but young readers will understand the gravity of it just the same. Golden-toned illustrations featuring soft brushstrokes, expressive faces, and warm scenes of Dara's Cambodian American family buoy the story's sadder moments. Commissioned by the Maine Humanities Council, O'Brien's book includes notes on the author's research, the refugee experience, and Cambodian culture. A loving, intergenerational story about loss and perseverance that feels honest, empowering, andbest of allhopeful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)