Star Stuff
by Rand Burkert; illus. by Chris Raschka
Primary    di Capua/HarperCollins    32 pp.
10/23    9780062858177    $19.99

Burkert’s (Mouse and Lion, rev. 11/11) original tale uses traditional folkloric structures and motifs to explain how the stars get into the night sky. Giovanni, with his felt hat and drooping mustache, and his donkey, Lorenzo, are “Specialists in Sky Repair.” They wander through the night sky “searching for holes to fill with stars.” When they find an open space, Giovanni throws “star stuff” into the hole, where it gathers strength and begins to glow. Then Lorenzo takes a wrong step and gets a hoof caught in a nebula. Giovanni is unable to free the donkey on his own and calls out for help. One by one, constellations Orion the Hunter, Cancer the Crab, and Taurus the Bull join forces and pull Lorenzo free. After a good night’s work, Giovanni and Lorenzo lumber back to Earth to rest. The loosely rhyming text is a pleasure to read aloud: “Hurrah! Lorenzo is free. / He shakes his flanks. / Giovanni bows, he gives his thanks.” Raschka’s (illustrator of Yellow Dog Blues, rev. 9/22, and many others) dynamic watercolor illustrations swirl and swoop across the page. Part porquoi story, part cumulative tale, this is both an enjoyable introduction to the constellations and an imaginative bedtime story.

From the September/October 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.