How to Catch a Star

by Oliver Jeffers, Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator)

Overview

From the illustrator of the #1 smash hit The Day the Crayons Quit comes a story about wishing, persevering, and reaching for the stars.

Once there was a boy, and that boy loved stars very much. So much so that he decided to catch one of his very own. But how? Waiting for them to grow tired from being up in the sky all night doesn't work. Climbing to the top of the tallest tree? No, not tall enough. The boy has a rocket ship . . . but it is made of paper and doesn't fly well at all. Finally, just when the boy is ready to give up, he learns that sometimes things aren't where, or what, we expect them to be.

Oliver Jeffers offers a simple, childlike tale of reaching for the stars, and emerging with a friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399242861
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/03/2004
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	36,060
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

 Oliver Jeffers (www.oliverjeffersworld.com) makes art and tells stories. His books include How to Catch a Star; Lost and Found, which was the recipient of the prestigious Nestle Children’s Book Prize Gold Award in the U.K. and was later adapted into an award-winning animated film; The Way Back Home; The Incredible Book Eating Boy; The Great Paper Caper; The Heart and the Bottle, which was made into a highly acclaimed iPad application narrated by Helena Bonham Carter; Up and Down, the New York Times bestselling Stuck; The Hueys in the New Sweater, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year; and This Moose Belongs to Me, a New York Times bestseller. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Oliver now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
 

Editorial Reviews

A boy in love with stars longs to have one for his friend. Setting out to catch one, he finds that no matter what he tries, he cannot reach it. When he notices, floating in the water, "the prettiest star he had ever seen," he tries to grasp it, but it comes apart in his fingers. On his way home along the shore, however, he finds a star washed up on the beach that he can take home as his own and is happy at last. Is it only a starfish? The illustrations for this whimsical tale leave that an open question. Indeed, the simplicity of design encourages readers to exercise their imaginations. The boy has a circle for a head and rectangle for a body with lines for legs. The other main objects, aside from stars, are trees, which are circles on sticks. Yet Jeffers's inventiveness makes these bare bones tell the emotional drama with a combination of humor and pathos. 2004, Philomel Books/Penguin Young Readers Group, Ages 4 to 6.
—Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature

PreS-K-In this whimsical picture book, a young stargazer decides he wants to catch a star. He ventures out at sunrise since he believes the stars will be "tired from being up in the sky all night." He waits all day, only to see one at sunset. The many schemes he concocts prove ineffective, and the sad child heads home along the beach. When he sees a sea star washed up on the sand, he is happy at last to have a star of his own. While the boy's original plan is counterintuitive, the rest of his schemes hold true for what a young child might dream up. The stylized watercolor cartoons are droll and lighthearted, resonating well with the tone of the story. Pair this with Kevin Henkes's Kitten's First Full Moon (Greenwillow, 2004) to share some nighttime adventures at storytime.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

…the best recent picture book by light years, is stylishly spellbinding” Telegraph“A story about possibilities and disappointments with a triumphant ending, all of which Jeffers captures through the beautifully expressive changing moods of his little boy.” Guardian“This is a magical, beautifully illustrated tale about reaching for dreams… Adults tend to think of waiting as tedious, but the magic of this book is that it understands waiting as children wait – alert, apprehensive and using their imaginations.” Mail on Sunday“Hail to new talent… If only all picture books could be this good" The Bookseller

From the Publisher