Little Star

Coady ( Little Red Riding Hood ) was an inspired choice as illustrator for this tale of a boy who finds a fallen star and brings it home. The soft, blurred edges of his artwork, his subtle brushwork and expert use of light and shadow infuse the story with a dream-like quality that gives it resonance and depth. In captivity, the star at first seems happy, zipping around James's room and showing off, playing hide and seek (here the pages glow with warm hues of yellow and orange), but by the third evening she has lost her sparkle, and grown dim and brittle (the pages echo the transformation, moving to cooler shades of blue and green). In the end, James sets her free, flinging her ``as far as he could into the blackness.'' The star rewards him by twinkling especially radiantly that night just for him. With Coady's visionary style, McKenna's gracefully cadenced prose creates a satisfying story filled with an unabashed sense of wonder. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)