When Stars Arise

April 28, 2023

PreS-K-Czub's muted color palette provides simple forms for children's faces and domestic shapes as a day draws to its close. The barn animals are tucked away, the deer in the forest are nestling in, the entire world of diurnal creatures is slowing in Alaraj's flowing verse: "The river lulls you with its song./ The water gently skips along./ But do not sleep./ Don't close your eyes/ until the twinkling stars arise." The children in the book move toward home; once inside there are baths, books, stuffies, and snug bedtime scenes before sleep comes and stays, "until the sun lights up the skies." What a satisfying circularity from this team, providing reassurance for toddlers and preschoolers while offering parents or educators a natural path to explain how bedtime is bigger than one person's wishes, but actually a rhythm of the universe. The illustrations feature gentle blues and grays for night, golden animals and lighted scenes, plus people with button eyes and black hair with skin tones in dappled watercolor; these have a universality that could represent almost any household's members. VERDICT A sweet lullaby for story hour that could also kick off a discussion of diurnal and nocturnal rhythms.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2023
A child winds down for bed. After a busy day, the little one starts preparing to go to sleep as quiet falls and animals on the farm and in the nearby forest also begin settling down. Each page includes lilting verse with a version of the repeated refrain, "But do not sleep. / Don't close your eyes / until the twinkling stars arise." Once the toys are put away, the child has had a bath, and their caregiver has told them a bedtime story, it's finally time to sleep "until the sun lights up the skies." Alaraj's poetry is gentle and sweet; combined with Czub's watercolor illustrations, the tale truly comes to life. The delicate bleeding of blues, greens, and browns, the blurred edges, and the softness of the images blend for a fully realized world with the coziest of touches. The tiny feathers on the hen, the spots on the owl, and the wings of the geese provide texture. The yellows of the setting sun give way to the deep blues of dark, slowly taking readers into dreamland. This is a stunning marriage of text and art that will linger with listeners as they slip into sleep. The adult and child have brown skin and black hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) This melodic lullaby is warm and tender perfection. (Board book. 0-4)

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