#blogbookaday: Blue Sky White Stars
Summary: “Wonderfully spare, deceptively simple verses pair with richly evocative paintings to celebrate the iconic imagery of our nation, beginning with the American flag. Each spread, sumptuously illustrated by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson, depicts a stirring tableau, from the view of the Statue of Library at Ellis Island to civil rights marchers shoulder to shoulder, to a spacecraft at Cape Canaveral blasting off. This book is an ode to America then and now, from sea to shining sea.” (Taken from Goodreads)
Review: A beautiful tribute to the American Flag, our history, people and landscapes that make America uniquely beautiful. Regardless of where you stand in this charged political environment, this book filled with sparse, yet strong text and images that are absolutely breathtaking is a book that needs to find its way into everyone’s home, school and library. This book celebrates where America has come from, since the 1700s to the rich tapestry that has been woven together as immigrants have traveled across thousands of miles to make this country their home bringing their own unique cultures, religions, and beliefs, sharing them with the others who call America home. This was my co-worker’s top choice for our Mock Caldecott and I can see why. But what’s even more surprising is that with a bunch of 1st-4th graders who sifted through 20+ titles, they chose this as their choice as well. And for that, I can say I have faith in the next generation.
Personal Reaction: It’s amazing the kind of power words hold. Sarvinder Naberhaus evokes such strong feelings in so few words – a talent so few people have. This book is sparse in text, but so full of meaning and the images do an amazing job comparing the text on each spread. I’m a huge fan of Kadir Nelson’s artwork, he is an extremely talented artist and his oil paintings are just so rich and realistic. I can’t imagine this text paired with any other art – it was the perfect choice. A mini-history lesson about our country and our flag, this would be the perfect picture book to share in a social studies or history class with older children and a perfect read aloud for younger children.
Title: Blue Sky White Stars
Author: Sarvinder Naberhaus
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: June 13, 2017
This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!