Review by Booklist Review
Phoebe loves hanging out with her father at his shop, Night Sky, where she can use telescopes to look at stars and planets. Longing to see Mars and Saturn, which are obscured by the city's many lights, Phoebe wishes for the bright lights to disappear . . . Just to give the night sky a chance. As if in answer to her wish, a storm rolls through and knocks out the neighborhood's power to reveal hundreds of glowing, sparkling, gleaming lights in the sky. Phoebe, her father, and many townspeople venture out to marvel at the sight of the planets, stars, and constellations. Full-page and spot illustrations of watercolor, acrylic, pencil, pastel chalk, and digital collage use a deep, dusky palette that results in vivid skyscapes and an interesting use of white space. Back matter offers information about the solar system and light pollution and includes a glossary and bibliography. This story of a young girl of color with a passion for science will fill a gap in many collections.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Phoebe and her father love astronomy, but "city lights always turned the night sky gray and dull," and their chances of spying Mars and Saturn one particular night aren't promising. After a day spent recreating the solar system in chalk on the sidewalk outside her father's store, which sells telescopes and other astronomical equipment, Phoebe wishes "for all the bright lights to disappear." Instead, she gets a rainstorm that drives them indoors. When the storm knocks out the power, however, Phoebe and her fellow residents are treated to a vibrant celestial light show, including glimpses of Mars, Saturn, and the Milky Way. While the story carries an unmistakable message about light pollution (one of several relevant topics examined in an appended section), Krishnaswami's (The Happiest Tree) elegant, understated writing focuses more on Phoebe's hopes, disappointments, and curiosities, as well as her tender relationship with her father. Newcomer Sicuro's mixed-media illustrations are similarly attentive to the story's emotions, though her scenes never get dark enough to fully convey the sense of a city by night. Which is, perhaps, kind of the point. Ages 6-9. Author's agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Phoebe loves everything about the stars. She draws the planets on the sidewalk outside of her dad's store after helping him set up the telescope. Saturn and Mars are going to be visible tonight up in the night sky. But Dad warns her that they might be hard to see, since the city lights "always turned the night sky gray and dull." Phoebe is disappointed and wishes that the lights would go out, just for a while. Sicuro's mixed-media illustrations help children understand the story from the girl's point of view. From her chalk drawings of the planets to the up-close view of Phoebe making her wish, readers are in the moment, hoping that Phoebe will get to see the stars. Several informational pages offer "More About Our Night Sky," including facts about the solar system, telescopes, and light pollution. VERDICT This fictional story will pair nicely with nonfiction titles on the topic, such as Jacqueline Mitton's Zoo in the Sky (1998) and Once Upon a Starry Night (2004, both National Geographic).-Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
What a night. A rare conjunction of Saturn and Mars will allow young Phoebe to see both at the same time if (and this is a big if) the sky isnt cloudy and the lights of the city dont create too much pollution to obscure them. In anticipation of the event, Phoebes dad sets up telescopes outside his shop, aptly named Night Sky, and she draws the planets in chalk on the sidewalk. As night falls and the lights come on, Phoebe and her dad can barely make out even the brightest of stars. And then a sudden rainstorm forces the two inside the shop and washes away her drawings and her dreams. But Phoebe insists they stay until storms end. They do, the clouds blow away, and a (convenient) citywide blackout makes it possible for the two of them to see stars in the hundreds, some in constellations that Phoebe had only ever seen in pictures. Sicuro captures the wonder of how deep the night was and how endless through a series of circular drawings and collages on a dark navy background as Krishnaswamis near-breathless prose recounts first one and then another of the sights now visible. An informal but thorough back-matter explanation of the planets, moons, planetary rings and conjunctions, telescopes, and light pollution refers to incidents in the story and grounds the information in now-familiar experiences. betty carter (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A nighttime power outage transforms a young urban sky watcher's frustration to joy.Outside her father's telescope shop, Phoebe chalks the solar system on the sidewalk, looks up at the faint, paltry sky show, and wishes that just once all the bright city lights would go out. A sudden storm grants her wish, and the clouds clear to reveal stars in the hundreds, constellations that she "had only ever seen / in pictures," a rare conjunction of Saturn and Mars, and the pale, gauzy Milky Way. "How deep the night was / and how endless!" Using a mix of pastels, chalks, and collage, Sicuro depicts Phoebe looking, usually, up and marveling at the spangled skies, the connected dots of constellations, and the two easily recognizable planets floating in the vasty deep. Puzzling choices include showing Phoebe peering through a telescope pointed down rather than up and lifting her arms in a final scene to a sky that looks more washed out than on previous pages. Still, views of her, her father, and wonderstruck passersby gazing up past crowded rooftops capture a strong sense of a special, shared moment. Along with a quixotic kvetch about light pollution, the author appends quick descriptions of the solar system, moons, planetary conjunctions, and optical telescopes. A mildly agenda-driven companion to the less-cosmic likes of John Rocco's Blackout (2011) or Jonathan Bean's intimate At Night (2007). (bibliography, glossary) (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
