STARS! STARS! STARS!
by Bob Barner & illustrated by Bob Barner
Barner (Dinosaur Bones, 2001, etc.) provides a concise, attractive introduction to stars and planets that will work well for reading aloud in preschool or early elementary classrooms or for one-on-one sharing with a young child. He uses striking paper collage in deep, vibrant tones to illustrate the simple rhyming text, beginning and ending with a young boy silhouetted in black against a deep blue sky filled with bright stars. The planets are introduced in order with short, rhyming phrases adding just a bit of information about each one. (“Stormy Mars glowing red in the vastness of space,” for example.) Barner works some basic astronomical terms into his text, although the rhyme doesn’t always flow along as smoothly as the stellar design that features creative type treatment and text placement wrapping around the illustrations. The final four pages include a spread with information about each planet and another titled “Meet the Universe!” with definitions of astronomical terms and simple facts. Astronomy is a vast, complex subject, and any introduction for children will necessarily be brief and even simplistic, but Barner succeeds in illuminating the basics of the field in a creative and satisfying way. (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-7)