Once Upon a Star: A Poetic Journey Through Space

PreS-Gr 2—Budding scientists and stargazers will find plenty to enjoy in this lyrical introduction to the sun. The rhyming narrative poem is set in bold type, which partners well with the vibrant retro illustrations. Adults will recognize the artistic tribute to the Space Age, while children will enjoy the fresh and brilliant colors that pair perfectly with the text. While literary devices, such as similes, are used, as when stars are "lights like lanterns on a shore," the poem never loses its focus on scientific wonder. After a brief introduction to stars and the sun, readers are taken back in history when nothing existed until there was an explosion—the big bang. A beautiful spread illustrates the solar system before zooming down to Earth and simply describing that life began there, too, and how we are all made of stardust so each of us is a star. A section at the end spells out "The Sun" vertically, acrostic style, providing a sentence for each letter with extra information about the sun.