When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars

What a wonder is "When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars"! I stumbled across this book 18 months ago, while searching for stories that would engage both my self and my then four-year-old daughter. The story echoes the plurality of our times -- particularly in light of September 11 -- but is rendered in such a simple and evocative voice as to leave adult and child alike dazed by its redolent charm. And the illustrations: daring, bold, dark -- and yet filled with a suprisingly luminous light, are like none I've ever seen in a "children's" book. Waste not a moment, sojouner, and purchase "When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars"! You won't be sorry.

This book strengthens children's conflict-resolution skills by demonstrating the consequences of decisions. By using stories that start out similarly, the author skillfully weaves the message of peace and shows that it's better to share things than to fight over them. The message is very universal and doesn't target any one group of people. In fact, the characters in the story are animals. The author carefully picked certain animals with negative or positive connotations to be the main characters. The fox is still sneaky, cunning, and selfish and the bear is wise and protective. The pictures are very intrically done, with an emphasis on the warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) in one story and an emphasis on cool colors (blue, purple, green) in the other. The book is also rich in metaphors and similes, which are new and creative, not overdone sayings. This author did a great job with this story. I loved the book so much that I wrote a unit plan for it! The only thing I'm disappointed with is the advertising and distribution of the story. I had never heard of it until I chanced upon it in the public library. All the teachers and school librarians that I talked to were not familiar with the book. With better advertisement and distribution, this book might have been a best seller. Although it targets children, this book is written for us all.