Geoffrey Norman

This is a heart warming story about a young girl, Amanda, and her father who is leaving for the armed forces. The story starts by having Amanda explain to her father that she does not want to go to sleep because she is afraid of the dark. Her father takes her outside and shows her all the beautiful things that come out during the night time. He points out different stars and she finds comfort in them. He decorates her room just like the stars in the night sky so she will not be scared when show more he is away. The story surprised me by having the dad sent away for a long time to go into the military. I loved how the author, Geoffrey Norman, did not sugarcoat the situation. The book tells that the father will be gone for a long time and it is dangerous where he is instead of saying "I'll be right back" or "You shouldn't worry, I'll be fine." I appreciate this realistic picture Norman is painting for his readers and in return, I believe his readers can feel more connected to the story. show less

I really enjoyed this book. This book shows great signs of parenting. The little girl is afraid of the dark, as a result, her dad creates a replica of the night sky in her room. This is a great book for children whose parents are in the military or has to travel often. The stars give her comfort when her dad is away & vice versa. The girl in the story adds to the night sky to surprise her dad. This is a great ending because it can bring up the topic to brainstorm ideas for the kids to do show more while their parents are away. E.B Lewis is a well known illustrator. He uses color and realistic imagery to convey sad and happy tones. show less

Introduce the book:
Creating a connection between a child and a parent even if half of the world separates them.

Tell about the book, but don’t give away the ending:
This is a great realistic fiction book about Amanda who is afraid of the dark. Her father shows her the amazing creatures of fireflies, crickets and stars that live in the dark. Her father is about to deploy and hangs paper stars that glow from her bedroom ceiling. He explains that if she looks at her special star that no show more matter how far way he was he was thinking of her. He also gives her a dog and both the puppy and her had grown a lot while he was gone. Amanda and her mom make a special surprise for him when he gets back.

Tell about your favorite part or make a connection:
My favorite part of this book was that the father gave the girl connections to him even know they could not be together. This established something to put her fears and hopes too.

Give a recommendation:
I would recommend reading this to a class especially one with students who have military parents or go long periods of time with them.

Ending sentence:
This is a book that is heartwarming and might help a student who is dealing with a difficult situation not feel so alone. show less

This is definitely one of my personal favorites. It is the story of a little girl named Amanda who makes a special connection with her father before he goes overseas to war. The illustrations are of realistic people and look like they were drawn from water colors. The connection they make is that even though Amanda and her father are apart they still share the stars. Before Amanda's dad leaves they put stars up in her room because she is afraid of the dark. Her dad is the one that helps her show more through that fear. I believe this book would be a comfort to students whose parents are overseas because of the military. I would highly recommend this book to anybody. show less