Once upon a Star: A Poetic Journey Through Space

Bold, retro-style artwork by Hernández and big splashy type give the spreads that accompany these space poems the impact of posters. The introductory image shows angular plant life in silhouette against a dusky blue sky with text in bold white letters: “Down comes night/ and if cloud-free,/ look up, you’ll find the galaxy.” In the pages that follow, Hernández chooses stately ochre and red for pointed stars (“one hundred billion, maybe more”), makes the sun a great yellow ball with crisp rays that seem to radiate warmth, represents the Big Bang (“A mighty BOOM/ A huge KERRANG”) with streaks and random shapes that emanate from a red burst, and traces the march of evolution with crisp, graphic forms (“Then life swam, crawled, flew”). Carter’s lines may put some readers off (“We’re from that star/ that seems so far./ We’re made of stardust, /yes, we are.”), but others may welcome poetry that doesn’t sound fancy. Acrostic-style space facts close the book. Ages 3–7. [em](Nov.) [/em]