Bec Nanayakkara (text) and Joanna Bartel (illustrator) The Book Star, Affirm Press, June 2024, 24 pp., RRP $22.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922863843
Picture books about Book Week often pop up in July and August, perhaps only being read in the lead up to Book Week. I was expecting this to be another take on a familiar theme. Refreshingly, this sparkling picture book is different.
Readers meet Grace, who just loves space. When the dress-up day is announced, Grace’s friends tell her that space is ugly, boring and weird and try to convince her to come as something different, and Grace finds herself in a dilemma.
Book Week dress-up day is the vehicle that drives a much deeper and more important message, ensuring The Book Star will be read and discussed long after Book Week is over. Themes of being true to yourself, creativity, peer group pressure and following your passion are all explored in a way that young readers will understand. Children may perhaps make some personal connections to this narrative. It is also a celebration of girls who enjoy STEM subjects.
The illustrations are delightful, especially the full-bleed double spreads as Grace imagines herself in space, pondering different costume ideas. It was a thoughtful inclusion (and an avoidance of stereotyping) that Grace is not the only character wearing glasses, as the teacher and another student also wear them.
A lovely sprinkling of just a few simple space facts is seamlessly woven into the narrative, opening up an opportunity for readers to investigate astronomy further.
Teaching notes can be found at Lamont Books.
Reviewed by Bronwyn Joseph
