Frane Lessac, Under the Milky Way, Candlewick Press, January 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781536200959
Highly acclaimed Lessac excels at richly illustrated non-fiction books and here is another feast of beautiful double page spreads. She takes readers on a star spangled tour of North America and Canada with scenes of how different peoples enjoy the night air, from snowy skaters in Minnesota to an Indian Powwow in Seattle. Creating so much colour and engagement in scenes that are all set in the dark will encourage readers in their own paintings and prompts classroom activities about community, tradition and geography. With dual text this book is packed with information in both words and pictures with celestial facts and suggestions at the back. Even pre-school readers will enjoy and return to this book, to seek Banjo the dog who is hidden on each page, to look up the places depicted on a map and puzzle over the order they come in the book. It’s good not to know all the answers.
Reviewed by Liz Anelli
