#blogbookaday: Touch the Brightest Star

Summary:  “A companion to the popular and acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree! In this interactive bedtime story, touch, tap, blink, whisper, and more to make magic happen in the nighttime sky, from sunset to sunrise.

What happens while you’re sleeping? With lush, beautiful watercolors and cut-paper collage, Christie Matheson reveals the magic of the nighttime sky, using the same kinds of toddler-perfect interactive elements as her acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree. Wave good-bye to the sun, gently press the firefly, make a wish on a star, rub the owls on their heads, and . . . shhhh. No two readings of this book will be the same. That along with the gentle, soothing rhythm, makes Touch the Brightest Star a bedtime winner—no matter how many times you and your child read it.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Review: Like interactive books that come before it, this story allows children to directly interact with the book including tapping, patting, pressing, blowing and more. This is a gentle story – perfect for bedtime to relax kids and get them calm before lights out and I love that you can enhance this story in so many ways as the reader – talk about nocturnal animals, what constellations are, search for moon outside your child’s window, etc. This is a quiet story that is perfect for one-on-one reading and cuddles as well as read aloud to a large group of children ready to “help” tell the story!

Personal Reaction: I absolutely loved the beautiful color palette of this story – blues, purples, pinks all the colors you see as the sun sets and then rises. I’ve had huge success with the book, Press Here by Hervé Tullet in storytime and I’m planning on using this book for a yoga storytime next week. It’s perfect length of text, interactive capability and I love the animals in the book as well – plus, with added facts about nighttime in the back, what’s not to love?

Title: Touch the Brightest Star
Author: Christie Matheson
Illustrator: Christie Matheson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: May 26, 2015

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!