Little Star

This seems to be my week for book reviews (check out my other blog)- which I would happily do anytime, by the way!  Part of living a "Barefoot" life, one that thrives on intention, creativity and community, is reading lots of books!  The latest book from Anthony DeStefano reminds me that Christmas is just around the corner.  We adore Christmas at our house, so I'm always happy to find a new book to add to our Christmas book box. 

This story is about a little star who struggles to be noticed by the other stars until one day he, the unlikely hero, notices the One, an unlikely savior.  Little Star recognizes that greatness is not determined by your size or importance, but by who you are born to be, and he gets to reap the benefit of that lesson. It is nice to find a unique Christmas book with such a great lesson to learn.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, though the illustrations unevenly alternate between looking old-fashioned-dark and overly-cartoonish.  Maybe they are just not my style.  DeStefano attempts to weave a tale of triumph that resonates in some parts but is sidetracked in others ("twinkle-talk"?) by some awkward moments (I doubt a star would keep a baby warm) and formulaic plotting.

My resident children's book expert (4 year old daughter) seemed unimpressed and did not ask to read it again, though we did our usual "unpacking" of the story, which she enjoyed.

All in all I think it is a sweet, fairly biblically accurate book, and I know it will make a great gift under the tree for the little book lover in your life.