A Handful of Stars

Tiger Lily is saving up money for an operation to cure her dog Lucky's blindness by painting bee houses to sell in her grandparents' store. When Lucky runs off, it's Salma, one of the migrant workers in the blueberry fields, who catches him, luring him with her sandwich. Lily's grandma sends Lily to bring Salma's family food, and Lily and Salma become friends, just when Lily most needs one - her old best friend ("peas in a pod") Hannah has gone boy crazy and things aren't the same between them anymore.

Salma helps Lily be "a little bit braver" than she is scared, and Lily is a good friend to Salma, too: she supports her when Salma decides to enter the Blueberry Queen pageant - the same pageant Hannah won last year, and that Lily's show more mother won three years in a row when she was a girl.

Quotes

"When you pretend, life can be any way you want it to be. So I imagine it better." (Salma to Lily)

Different is good. Different makes you pay attention. (remembered from audiobook, not found in text)

"To do brave things, you don't have to be hugely brave. You only have to be a little bit braver than you are scared."

Maybe when we see things all the time, we stop really looking at them. And it takes an artist, someone who can look past the ordinariness, to remind us how special they really are.

I think "almost" is one of the hardest kinds of losing. Because you could see all the way to winning before that door shut.

But it's so hard to change your mind once you've set your heart on something. show less

The setting is a small Maine town located near the Canadian border. Lily is an orpan who lives with her maternal grandparents in an apartment above her grandparents general store. Lily's dog Lucky is the only thing she has in her life from before her mother was killed in a car accident. When elderly Lucky becomes blind, Lily paints bee houses to gather money for surgery for Lucky.

When Lucky runs, she finds Selma, a young migrant worker who picks blueberries with her parents. They become instant friends.

When Selma Santiago learns there is a $5,000 scholarship if she can become queen of the blueberry festival, she borrows a dress, learns all about blueberries, holds her head high and hopes she has a chance at a future.

This is a lovely show more tale of different cultures coming together, of two girls who bond, each with a goal, and each helping the other to reach for the stars. In the end their achievement is not what the expected.

This is a touching, well-written book by a Newbery award-winning author. show less

Great book that I am going to add to my ‘dogs-favorite-books’ shelf. I am pushing this book as a ‘dog book’, as the dog doesn’t have a big role, but is the reason for things to happen in the book. The main character Lily has a blind, old, black, Labrador retriever who she is trying to raise enough money to get surgery for the dogs’ cataracts.

The story is set in blueberry country in Maine, and I love blueberries. In the course of the book, we learn a LOT about blueberries, which comes out in fun little bits.

Lily meets Salma, a young girl whose parents are migratory workers coming to help harvest blueberries. Their friendship and Salma’s competing in the Downeast Blueberry Queen pageant are heartwarming. I like how things show more are not necessarily taken in ways you would expect.

Lily paints bee houses using stencils to sell to raise money to fix her dogs cataracts. Selma likes to paint without one. I like quotes on art and liked this bit:

“Why don’t you try doing a bee house without the stencil?” Selma asked. “It might look better than you think.”
“It might look worse, too.”
She shrugged. “But at least it would be yours. That’s what I like about art. It lets me become more like myself, not more like everyone else.”

When her friend Salma was painting blueberries on bee houses, Lily pointed out that they were missing stars. She goes on to explain more about stars in this paragraph:

‘Through the plastic wrap on top of the box, I showed Selma all the little five-pointed stars on top of each berry. A whole box full of little blue-black stars. “Pepere said that the early Wabanakis called blueberries ‘star berries.’ They believed the Great Spirit sent them down from the sky once when there was no other food to eat.”

After that, they start referring to each other as star friends, and say things like “Star friends always help each other!”

I especially like to look for good quotes related to dogs, and liked this one said by Lily’s grandfather referred to as Pepere:

“That’s something we could learn from dogs, isn’t it? They don’t keep looking backward at what they’ve lost asking ‘why me?’ they just move on and find a new way to be happy again.”

So, great book for youth or anyone. Just wish I had a granddaughter to read it to.

PS: No Kleenex needed at the end of the book except for happy tears. show less

When Lily's blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it's Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season. After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily's grandfather, and Salma's friendship transforms Lily's summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they'll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant-and possibly win?Set amongst the blueberry barrens and by the sea, this gorgeous novel by Newbery Honor author show more Cynthia Lord tackles themes of prejudice and friendship, loss and love. show less

Great book that I am going to add to my ‘dogs-favorite-books’ shelf. I am pushing this book as a ‘dog book’, as the dog doesn’t have a big role, but is the reason for things to happen in the book. The main character Lily has a blind, old, black, Labrador retriever who she is trying to raise enough money to get surgery for the dogs’ cataracts.

The story is set in blueberry country in Maine, and I love blueberries. In the course of the book, we learn a LOT about blueberries, which comes out in fun little bits.

Lily meets Salma, a young girl whose parents are migratory workers coming to help harvest blueberries. Their friendship and Salma’s competing in the Downeast Blueberry Queen pageant are heartwarming. I like how things show more are not necessarily taken in ways you would expect.

Lily paints bee houses using stencils to sell to raise money to fix her dogs cataracts. Selma likes to paint without one. I like quotes on art and liked this bit:

“Why don’t you try doing a bee house without the stencil?” Selma asked. “It might look better than you think.”
“It might look worse, too.”
She shrugged. “But at least it would be yours. That’s what I like about art. It lets me become more like myself, not more like everyone else.”

When her friend Salma was painting blueberries on bee houses, Lily pointed out that they were missing stars. She goes on to explain more about stars in this paragraph:

‘Through the plastic wrap on top of the box, I showed Selma all the little five-pointed stars on top of each berry. A whole box full of little blue-black stars. “Pepere said that the early Wabanakis called blueberries ‘star berries.’ They believed the Great Spirit sent them down from the sky once when there was no other food to eat.”

After that, they start referring to each other as star friends, and say things like “Star friends always help each other!”

I especially like to look for good quotes related to dogs, and liked this one said by Lily’s grandfather referred to as Pepere:

“That’s something we could learn from dogs, isn’t it? They don’t keep looking backward at what they’ve lost asking ‘why me?’ they just move on and find a new way to be happy again.”

So, great book for youth or anyone. Just wish I had a granddaughter to read it to.

PS: No Kleenex needed at the end of the book except for happy tears. show less

A sweet book that nonetheless tackles quite a few larger themes thoughtfully -- the blindness of a beloved pet, the difficulties of being a migrant worker and also being part of the settled community, the way waves of immigrants treat each other/ learn the same lessons (first french-canadian and then latinx), blueberry culture/ the challenges of living in a primarily rural and tourism economy, grief at missing both beloved pets and parents.

Mostly, however, I'd say it's a story about being a kid in Maine and negotiating friendships, and a really touching story at that. Enjoyable.

Ever since her mom died when she was little, Lily's been raised by her grandma and grandpa. They live right above their store in Maine. It's a bustling town during blueberry season when workers come to help with the harvest and the tourists buy blueberry products. This summer, Lily has been feeling distant from her best friend, and wishes things could go back to the way they were. Thank goodness, for her dog, Lucky. Unfortunately, he’s having trouble with his vision and can't see very well. Lily’s hoping to afford an expensive operation that might help Lucky. He's one of her last connections to her mom. After her dog gets loose and runs to the blueberry fields she meets Salma, a girl her age, who is helping with the picking. Lily show more and Salma become fast friends. Together they work to raise money to get Lucky the surgery he needs. Now the Blueberry Festival preparations are beginning and soon the pageant for Blueberry Queen will take place. This year her former best friend will be running against Salma. There's more than just the crown at stake, there’s money and a sense of belonging. No matter what Lily expected from the pageant there was no way she could've guessed the events that would unfold. Will the girls raise enough money for Lucky’s surgery? Who will be crowned the next Blueberry Queen? How will Lily deal with her friendship issues?


I have read many books by Cynthia Lord and I was pleased to read A Handful of Stars. I heard her speak about the book at the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair this past November. It was great to dive into the story knowing a little bit more about the background of the migrant workers who go to Maine, and I remembered Ms. Lord talking about how the cover was designed. This is a wonderful story about family and relationships. It helps kids learn about old and new friends. Another important theme is going outside of the box and learning to believe in yourself. It was also a good lesson for Lily that sometimes what we wish for most isn't what's best, so we shouldn't close our minds off to other ways our hopes can be answered. I recommend this book to kids in fourth grade and up who like realistic fiction. A definite treat for any dog lovers out there! There are great things throughout the book that make the story stay with you long after you turn the last page. This is a book that made me laugh and I even shed a few tears. I've thought about the characters a lot and that tells me something about the book. show less