Bright Star - Hardcover

Crew, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0916291758 ISBN 13: 9780916291754

Publisher: Kane Miller Book Pub, 1997

Synopsis

When she meets the famous Australian astronomer John Tebbutt, Alicia realizes that she is no longer doomed to a life of needlework and milking cows but that her future is as limitless as the stars

About this title

About the Author:

Queensland author Gary Crew has an outstanding reputation as a writer of young adult fiction and innovative picture books. His numerous prizes and awards include CBC Book of the Year: Older Readers for Strange Objects and Angel's Gate (1991 and 1994); CBC Picture Book of the Year shortlisting for Lucy's Bay (1993); CBC Picture Book of the Year for First Light (1994) and CBC Picture Book of the Year for The Watertower (1995). Gary was editor of the After Dark series and author of the picture books First Light, The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie, Bright Star, The Viewer, Troy Thompson's Excellent Peotry Book, Troy Thompson's Radical Prose Folio, Memorial and Leo the Lion Tamer. His previous Lothian YA Fiction titles are Mama's Babies and Dear Venny, Dear Saffron. ILLUSTRATORBIO: Anne Spudvilas lives in Geelong, Victoria, where she works as a graphic designer, fine artist and book illustrator. Her illustrative work for The Race by Christopher Mattingley, won the 1997 Crichton Award for Book Illustration.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Alicia obediently goes about her daily farm chores, but dreams of being free to follow her inclination to learn about the stars. Her family seems unaware of her special talents, and even the teacher who praises her skill in class insists on her adhering to the curriculum that sends the girls off to needlepoint class while the boys do nature study. When the local celebrity, a noted astronomer, visits the class, Alicia impresses him favorably. The "Star Man's" remarks to her parents after church on Sunday finally motivate the child's mother to do something about her daughter's aspirations. The two pay a nocturnal visit to Mr. Tebbutt's observatory, and Alicia comes away with the knowledge that she must choose her own destiny. Amateur astronomer John Tebbutt (1834-1916) lived in New South Wales, and the author notes that some of his observatories are still standing. Spudvilas's illustrations, which have the look of oil paintings, nicely complement Crew's thoughtful prose. The colors are rich and there is a nice variety in terms of size and placement on the page. Even the typeface has a faintly old-fashioned quality that blends nicely with the pictures and with the overall tone of the story. A lovely bit of historical fiction, set in 1871, that is both thought-provoking and entertaining.?Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kane Miller Book Pub
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0916291758
• ISBN 13: 9780916291754
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Spudvilas Anne