PERIWINKLE SMITH AND THE FARAWAY STAR

Another sugar rush from the creators of Periwinkle Smith and the Twirly, Whirly Tutu (2009), featuring an urchin with button eyes, no nose, a huge hair bow and an outsized fund of determination. Here, after spotting a lonely star (with a sad face) in the sky, she tries sending a valentine via bird, then balloon, then cobbled-together airplane. None reaches the sky, but Periwinkle Smith is nothing if not persistent. In the end, a little red paint applied to a (remarkably powerful) flashlight does the trick, turning the ordinary household tool into a heart-shaped Bat-signal of sorts. Cartoon images with plenty of pink highlights float against pastel backdrops that look like vinyl wall covering. The cover, with its spray of sparkly stars behind a balletically posed girl will accurately and instantly tell susceptible young readers all they need to know about what’s inside. (Picture book. 5-7)