The Tiny Star

This meditation by Fox (Cat Dog) and Blackwood (The Feather) starts with a miracle: “Once upon a time, although this happens all the time, a tiny star fell to earth,” Fox begins engagingly, “and turned into a baby!” The brown-skinned infant, entirely human-looking, lands in an armchair among a jumble of small city dwellings one blue-tinged evening. A kindly-looking couple take the star home, lavishing care on it until “it was all grown up.” Warm spreads in soft lines show the star-child showered with love in a joyous, ethnically inclusive community. Fox refers to the star as “it,” and in Blackwood’s art, it has long straight hair, a dress, and a night sky–patterned blanket. At the end of its life, the star shrinks, then disappears altogether. Its human companions grieve until they realize that the star, back in the sky, is shining down on them, in a book that shows how love can draw people closer as individuals and as a community. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)