The keeper of stars

Milo gets ready for bed and snuggles up to his mother for a story. They always read exactly three, though his mom inevitably conks out before they're finished, and that's when Milo's nighttime adventures begin. From his window, he hitches a ride on a friendly comet to rendezvous with the kindly Keeper of the Stars. They start their nightly ritual of tidying up the heavens of any accumulated debris: lost feathers, wayward balloons, even the occasional confused paraglider. They also clean the stars themselves. When work is done, the Keeper (an enormous star-speckled bear) brings out hot cocoa and sandwiches for the two to share before Milo heads home to slumber. The snug story is as comforting as it is captivating, and young readers missing a parent may pick up on quiet implications of an absent father. The fanciful illustrations are transporting, with star-swept vistas and cozy bedrooms receiving equally detailed treatment, and the sprightly stars' amusing antics are a joy to behold. A sparkling bedtime story that will set the stage for sweet dreams.

A bear in the heavens subs for a child's father. Each night, Milo reads stories with his mother and taps a photo of his dad three times. After his exhausted mom falls asleep, Milo hitches a ride on a fiery comet and cleans up the sky, which is filled with "balloons, stray feathers," and, once, some "very unmanageable ducks." Then Milo and the Keeper of Stars, a huge blue bear with a spangled coat, bathe and shine their five-pointed charges, who sometimes become a bit unruly. When Milo and the Keeper are done, they share sandwiches and cocoa and admire the sky. Returning home, Milo again taps his dad's picture and gets into bed, knowing "the stars are always there…even when you can't see them." It's never made explicitly clear where Milo's father is, but the boy appears to be working his way through some complex emotions. This very subtle approach to a parent's absence drags a bit in the middle, and little ones may not entirely understand how Milo's devotion to star cleaning relates to his father. But the fantasy of floating out one's window, soaring on a comet, and hanging out with a big guy in the sky is enthralling, sustained by the imaginative illustrations. Amid the colorful simplified characters, the bear is majestic. Milo and his mother are tan-skinned. Some of the loftier themes may go over readers' heads, but they'll enjoy this journey through the cosmos nonetheless. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.