Laura's Star
A bright star falls from the sky becomes a lifelong friend for a lonely little girl. What could be more comforting right before bed?
This charming book features a shining holographic foil star on its pages that can be touched. There are also touching lessons in giving and friendship.
The author teaches children’s book illustration at a university in Germany; this book has been translated from the original German. Baumgart comforts children first with the friendship between Laura and the star and, second, with the knowledge that the star will always be her friend, even if she can’t touch it.
Laura is afraid to tell others about her star, for fear they won’t believe her, but the secret friendship still rings true. It’s a sad lesson for her, too, when she realizes that the star disappears during the day. Laura goes through the same emotions that every preschooler experiences in day-to-day life-joy, sadness, loneliness, fear-and comes out fine on the other end.
The foil star on each page is only a small part of the watercolor illustrations, showing Laura’s world with bright colors and soft quilts. When she’s sad, the illustration is mainly gray-a park bench-and when she’s happy she’s surrounded by a rainbow’s worth of colors.
Laura is a recurring character in Baumgart’s work, as are stars, while “Laura’s Star” is just one book from publisher Tiger Tales. These colorful, kid-friendly titles cover subjects ranging from turtles in toilets to ABCs. Toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy these immensely, but readers up to ten years old laughed aloud, too.
Reviewed by
Jodee Taylor
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
