Suz Hughes

Alien is a star shiner. He has to keep all the stars in the sky shining. He does not take a break to play or make friends. When the stars go out, he does not know what to do. He is told to get Magic Star Varnish from the planet Earth. He arrives on Earth and meets a boy and his dog. When George helps alien find the varnish they decide they have time to play before he heads back to space. Alien has so much fun. They laugh and laugh. Suddenly the stars turn back on. They wanted Alien to make a friend and learn to have fun. George and Alien become fast friends. A cute story about taking time to have fun which was not lost upon me, the adult reading this book to her grandson. He didn't get the message but he liked the pictures, especially the colourful stars. A great read aloud book to kids with the message getting through to the adults as they read.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

Alien has the very important job of keeping the stars shiny. It's a full time job. He doesn't even has time to make friends or have fun. Despite all his efforts, one day the stars just went out. That was catastrophic! All he tried to fix it failed, so the Star HelpLine suggested to get some magic varnish at planet Earth. His arrival was a little troubled, since aliens float on Earth, but luckily he met a boy named George who happily helped him to make his way to the hard store and buy all the magic varnish they could carry. George also invited Alien to play with him, and they had a great time together. Alien couldn't believe how much fun was to have a friend! He felt so happy! And then he saw the night full of bright stars. He realized friendship was all the varnish he needed. It was time to came back to his planet, but George and Alien promised to be friends for ever, to grant a shiny, glowing, sparkling sky in the night.

Beautiful story about the importance of friendship to keep us healthy and bright. The text is simple enough to be read to toddlers too. I also loved the illustrations, colorful, smart, and sometimes crayon-like. As far as I know this is Hughes first book as author besides illustrator, and it's wonderful.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Find more children's book reviews in Reviews in Chalk… (meer)

This is a children’s picture book featuring an alien who shines stars and makes no time for friends or play. One night the stars go out and he goes to earth in search of magic star varnish. He realizes that as he develops a friendship with a boy on earth that he didn’t need the varnish, he only needed friendship and joy in his heart. It is beautifully illustrated. I love that this book teaches children about friendship and balance. This book requires certain leaps of faith to keep up with the plot and logistics (alien floating on earth, boy and alien communicating by phone between earth and outer space), but children are more forgiving of these things. I would give this 3-stars and recommend it to 2-6 year olds.

Thank you to net galley and capstone books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For discussion questions, please visit: www.book-chatter.com… (meer)