One Starry Night

Under a starry slate-blue sky, mother animals watch their children in this outing from the team that created The Apple Pie That Papa Baked. Italicized text forms a separate rhyming stream of loving maternal commentary (“I am here/ always near”) as the main text describes scenes of loving mother-child companionship, culminating with Joseph, Mary, and their newborn, with animal pairs gathered round. Per an author’s note, the featured animals could all be found in the Holy Land at the time of Jesus’ birth. Thompson focuses on the Nativity theme of love; Bean also keeps it simple with a limited palette of earth tones. The book is more universalist than Christian, which should allow it a broad readership. Ages 1–6. (Oct.)