TWINKLE, STAR OF THE WEEK

A classroom filled with personified stars teaches readers a few facts about space and about being special. When Ms. Sun tells her Sky School class that each of them will get a turn to be the Star of the Week, they are all excited, but none more so than Twinkle. Looking forward to Sharing Time, she plans to share her special song. The other stars share such things as asteroid cookies, a pet Comet and the game of Constellation Tag, and all the while Twinkle practices her song. But then Blink sings the song she thought was hers alone. Can she find something special to share in the time remaining? Is there any doubt? In the nick of time someone uses her as a wishing star, and she helps them make their wish come true. Nicholls’s digital artwork gives each star his/her own personality, but his renderings hew to the obvious, picturing the students with oversized, five-pointed stars for heads. While Holub’s concept of a wishing star is a great one, it comes too close to the end to support the lackluster story that comes before it. Perhaps her next will further build upon that conceit. (Picture book. 5-8)