CORKY TAILS

In this illustrated children’s book, a puppy learns how to safeguard the night skies from light pollution.

Sagebrush, a tailless corgi puppy, lives in the Rocky Mountains with her dog parents, Maverick and Ginger, and Young Miss (her human owner) on a beautiful ranch. One night, Sagebrush wakes up suddenly and realizes it’s much darker outside than usual. She discovers that the ranch’s security light has burned out, and now the corgi can see “millions of stars brilliantly twinkling against the black velvet of the night sky.” She learns that such sights are rare now because of light pollution, and not just in cities. The ranch’s bright security light had obscured the stars, only visible now because the bulb burned out. Light pollution is bad for plants and animals because it upsets their natural day/night rhythms and ability to use celestial navigation. People, too, miss out; they can no longer study the constellations just by looking up at the night sky. When Mr. Electric Man arrives to replace the bulb, Sagebrush begs him not to. Luckily, he has a dark-sky shade he can install that reduces upward glare. Everyone on the ranch, especially Sagebrush, is delighted with the new shade. In this sixth installment of her series, Franks continues to address environmental issues mixed with fantasy elements—such as the Shuns, wise, gnomelike creatures rescued from habitat loss—making the message less preachy. The writing nicely captures Sagebrush’s sense of wonder at the newly dark sky: “For a few mysterious moments, time seemed to stand perfectly still as a thin cloud seemed to cloak itself around the moon.” Illustrator Visitacion contributes undistinguished, cartoonlike digital pictures that don’t reflect the setting’s lushness, though the dogs are cute.

A congenial approach to encouraging awareness of and methods for protecting night skies.