Falling star

The protagonist of this self-acceptance tale by Liu (Hidden Gem) is a chunky, yellow-green star with big, earnest-looking eyes and a seemingly clear sense of purpose: "I twinkle, tiptoe, and dance,/ looking for wishes to grant." A self-described "overachiever," the being nevertheless struggles to handle the dog-eat-dog world of astronomical life, where stars compete to "be number one:/ The star that lost souls wish upon." Sweating the pressure, it plummets from the sky in what looks like a teardrop-shaped aura. But when two sailors discover the fallen star on Earth and set it in a lighthouse's lantern room, it realizes, "I'm exactly where I need to be," guiding ships to safety. Single-plane, full-spread watercolor and digital images, rendered with tissue-paper textures, rounded shapes, and a fanciful sense of scale, depict the star entering Earth's atmosphere through a literal crack in the sky. While the rhyming text can be workmanlike ("Now I'm upstaged by the lights in Paris," says the narrator, "Don't look at me; I'm so embarrassed"), the visuals demonstrate the joy of finding where one truly belongs. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--6. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (June)

A bright yellow star finds itself in a literal and psychological freefall. The celestial body's monologue begins in the heavens. Its fragile emotional state is conveyed primarily by the rhyming text; its only facial features are its wide-open, anxious eyes. The people of Earth love wishing upon stars, and our protagonist loves granting them, but "competing with the other stars for the spotlight" is stressful. Worried, the star--surrounded by a teardrop shape--tumbles from the sky while fretting. These concerns seem more geared toward overachieving adults than little ones: "Have I lost my spot in the sky? / Was everything I accomplished a lie?" The seemingly random accompanying images appear to be more driven by a forced rhyme scheme than the plot: "Now I'm upstaged by the lights in Paris. // Don't look at me; I'm so embarrassed." The protagonist falls into a hole but is eventually lifted up by two sailors (one tan-skinned, one brown-skinned) and placed in an unlit lighthouse. Shining brightly once again, the star concludes, "As long as I am who I am, I will be fine." Pretty sunset-hued watercolors aren't enough to rescue this tale that misses the mark when it comes to audience appeal. Rambling ruminations on self-worth.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.