cover image Sky All Around

Sky All Around

James Cross Giblin, Anna Grossnickle Hines. Clarion Books, $13.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-89919-801-9

On a clear summer night a girl and her father climb to the top of a nearby hill. The sun goes down and the show begins, as the sky turns rosy and violet and the stars come out. A crescent moon provides the right light for sky-gazing. First the two of them spot Jupiter, then ``ten stars, a million stars in the nighttime sky.'' The girl finds the Big Dipper, then her father points out the Northern Crown, Star Flyer and Scorpio. A shooting star signals time for a piggyback ride home. Hines's pictures il lustrations are in the soft colors of summer, accompanied by generously illustrated borders that help clarify the constellations. She provides an elementary lesson in astronomy as well as a balmy ride into bedtime. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)