Bright Star

Bright Star by Yuyi Morales (Neal Porter Books, 2021) is not the kind of book I typically review. Is it too abstract for young readers?  But after two readings and especially reading the author’s note in the back which explains eleven reasons why she wrote the book, I fell in love with what this book represents for the author, and since I agree with her motivations for writing it, I decided to review it.

With beautiful illustrations, the story follows a newborn fawn as it learns from its mother how to stay safe and that it is loved. But then, right in the middle there is an abrupt change to the general tranquility of the fawn’s life and we see her at a wall. The wall at the borderlands between Mexico and the United States. The author then invites the reader to imagine a better world where we are bright stars, safe and loved.

Because I think the book is best understood by including all the reasons Yuyi Morales wrote it, I think this book is best shared with older elementary students. Making the connection between Morales’ passion for better immigration policy – and no walls! – and the product of her book can give a powerful message to a way that one person can influence others in the hopes of making the world a better place. In fact, this book would be a wonderful mentor resource in middle or high school classrooms by working backward from a passion/desire for change and creating a book to depict that passion just as Morales did.

Bright Star packs a lot of heavy content into a beautiful book (especially if you read the author’s note) and leaves us with a message of hope. Not an easy feat at all.