SYNOPSIS:
Everybody loves the stars but have you ever loved them enough to steal them?
Not just one or two, but all of them?
When a little girl decides she wants a real star of her own she can’t resist taking them all. What she doesn’t realise is that taking the stars will have disastrous consequences for her and millions of other children around the world.
But what will it take for her to give them back?
My Thoughts:
This gorgeous picture book tells the story of a little girl who longs for a star of her own. With the help from Santa she climbs up and takes one but on reaching home the star has lost some of its shine. Thinking that the star might be lonely, she sets back out to retrieve another star so that it will have a friend. It soon becomes clear that the stars are simply unhappy and that they are needed elsewhere.
The first thing that really captured me when I opened the book was the text. I loved how the author used different fonts and colours to highlight words and phrases on the pages, not only was it really eye-catching but added a fun element to the text. The illustrations are cleverly positioned on the page, framing the text rather than the other way round. I love how each page is different so you are never really sure what you will find when you turn the page. Some pages are very dark (those illustrating the night sky), others are very bright and some white with smaller illustrations; I loved the juxtaposition between the pages.
The story is such a charming one of an innocent girl going after something she wants with no consideration of how her actions will affect anyone else. The true essence of early childhood. However, after being told of the consequences of her actions she sets to work in making amends. This is such a powerful lesson for children to learn and The Girl Who Stole The Stars is a perfect way to teach young children that their actions can affect others.
This book has an added feature that I know all children will enjoy, it involves Santa! What child can resist a book featuring Father Christmas? This festive book will be a firm favourite in many households and classrooms during the month of December and throughout the year too, as the message portrayed in the book is such an important one, the story beautifully written and the overall look of the book is just stunning.
Many thanks to Little Doors Books and Corrina Campbell for gifting me a copy of The Girl Who Stole The Stars which is such a wonderful, heartwarming book.