Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Children's Literature - Sheree van Vreede

Using a variation of a traditional poem, this is a great bedtime book for toddlers and preschoolers. Most of us can remember that twinkling star that we hoped would make our wishes come true. This book is durable and portable, so kids can take it anywhere. The illustrations are done in soft, warm, inviting hues.

Library Journal

PreS-Gr-1-Clever additional verses make this classic song splendidly unique. With soft watercolors, Trapani depicts a cuddly bear family and pet pup on a boat excursion. They start off leisurely in bright sunshine but soon encounter fallen oars, rapids, and a beaver dam. Stopping for a picnic lunch, they enjoy their meal with all of the forest animals who are "Chomping, snacking, slurping, smacking/What a noisy bunch!" Returning to the boat, they run into bad weather and hurry back to shore. "Raining, hailing, wind is wailing/Hear the thunder roar!" Children will enjoy the rhyming, alliterative language energized by strings of gerunds. Every original verse perfectly matches the traditional melody, and each picture illustrates the action with warmth, excitement, and humor. The music with all of the verses is printed on the last page. Trapani has transformed a simple little song into a delightful adventure.-Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A little blonde girl gazes out of her window at a twinkling celestial object, greets it with the traditional childhood rhyme of the title, and requests that she might have her wish that night. Her wish comes true when the smiling star appears in her window and takes her on a magical ride through the sky. The combination of serene, lovely landscapes and a cartoon, smiley-faced star has a hodgepodge effect. The rhyming text, while serviceable, switches voice from the girl to the star with no punctuational differentiation, resulting in some confusion when reading aloud. Musical notation is included, which will make this useful as a lullaby, but it is a disappointing, overly sweet and contrived follow-up to Trapani's clever Itsy Bitsy Spider (Whispering Coyote, 1993).-Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library

School Library Journal

PreS-Iza Trapani's book (Charlesbridge, 1994) is packaged with a CD in which the words are both sung and read. After a greeting from the author, Trapani and a child sing each verse in the book, accompanied by piano, guitar, percussion, and other instruments played softly. Finally, Valerie Stephens reads each verse in the book in a sweet, gentle voice, accompanied by both music and page-turn signals. The CD can be used as either a lullaby to lull children to sleep or as a read-along to help them improve their reading skills. This read-along package will be a welcome addition to most libraries.-Beverly Bixler, San Antonio Public Library, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Clever additional verses make this classic song splendidly unique. With soft watercolors, Trapani depicts a cuddly bear family and pet pup on a boat excursion. They start off leisurely in bright sunshine but soon encounter fallen oars, rapids, and a beaver dam. Stopping for a picnic lunch, they enjoy their meal with all of the forest animals who are Chomping, snacking, slurping, smacking/What a noisy bunch! Returning to the boat, they run into bad weather and hurry back to shore. Raining, hailing, wind is wailing/ Hear the thunder roar! Children will enjoy the rhyming, alliterative language energized by strings of gerunds. Every original verse perfectly matches the traditional melody, and each picture illustrates the action with warmth, excitement, and humor. The music with all of the verses is printed on the last page. Trapani has transformed a simple little song into a delightful adventure. Jackie Hechtkopf.