Skywatcher

August 1, 2021
A city-dwelling child gets a chance to see the stars. Tamen lies in bed at night reading his Skywatcher comics. He dreams of traveling the galaxy like the hero in the comics, but he wonders how he can find his way without the stars. He asks his mom where the stars are, and one night he drags her out to the park to find them, but they are obscured by the city lights. One weekend his mom takes him away from the city. Under a moonlit sky, she builds a fire, and they watch as the stars come out and name the constellations they see. In the middle of the night, Tamen is awoken by a sound, and when he emerges from the tent, he gets a better view of the galaxy than he had ever imagined. Hogan's illustrations use pastels with a blue and yellow palette to create the feeling of glowing lights in the night. While the surface story of a boy interested in stars is unexceptional, what makes this story stand out is the relationship between a boy and his hardworking mother, who works the night shift at the hospital, and a special night they share together outside of their usual busy routine. Tamen sees a new side of his mother; together, they feel at one with the universe, and when they return home, Tamen cherishes the memories. In the illustrations, child and mother both have pale skin and straight hair, his black and hers light. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Touching. (note, resources) (Picture book. 4-8)

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January 1, 2022
Tamen longs to "travel the galaxy just like Skywatcher," the hero of a comic he is reading, but when he looks out his city window, or even outside in the park, the stars aren't visible. Tamen's mom (seen earlier in medical scrubs) takes him on a surprise camping trip, where he is finally able to see the stars. Hogan's illustrations are almost all in velvety shades of blue to convey the darkness of the night, except for a pale green Luna moth and the golds and purples surrounding the stars. "This black is SO big, but I feel like I'm part of it," Tamen tells his mom, and she explains that "the atoms in us were forged in stars long ago." The accompanying double-page spread shows mother and son sitting close together, their bodies sprinkled with the same stars that dot the sky. On their return to the city, Mom goes back to working the night shift, but Tamen feels reassured knowing that the stars are still there even though he can't see them. An author's note tells more about light pollution's disruptive effects on migrating creatures, on conservation, and on humans' "ability to see beyond ourselves." A few facts about nocturnal animals and about how readers can become "skywatchers" are also appended. Susan Dove Lempke

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2022
Tamen longs to "travel the galaxy just like Skywatcher," the hero of a comic he is reading, but when he looks out his city window, or even outside in the park, the stars aren't visible. Tamen's mom (seen earlier in medical scrubs) takes him on a surprise camping trip, where he is finally able to see the stars. Hogan's illustrations are almost all in velvety shades of blue to convey the darkness of the night, except for a pale green Luna moth and the golds and purples surrounding the stars. "This black is SO big, but I feel like I'm part of it," Tamen tells his mom, and she explains that "the atoms in us were forged in stars long ago." The accompanying double-page spread shows mother and son sitting close together, their bodies sprinkled with the same stars that dot the sky. On their return to the city, Mom goes back to working the night shift, but Tamen feels reassured knowing that the stars are still there even though he can't see them. An author's note tells more about light pollution's disruptive effects on migrating creatures, on conservation, and on humans' "ability to see beyond ourselves." A few facts about nocturnal animals and about how readers can become "skywatchers" are also appended.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)