Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus -ADVISABLE

Naberhaus, Sarvinder and Illustrated by Nelson, Kadir Blue Sky White Stars, 20 pages. Dial (Penguin), 2017.  $18. PICTURE BOOK 

This simple patriotic book features pages with one or two words and a large illustration. There are American symbolic references, like the flag, a bald eagle, and the Grand Canyon. There are historical references like pioneers and Abe Lincoln. There are social unity references like the civil war and civil rights. Each page is quite profound in its simplicity for example there are two pages that simply say “stand proud”, one features a group of civil war troupes and another features a woman graduating.

This is the perfect book for a class discussion on American Symbols and Patriotism, as each page could be a talking point for a lesson. I was disappointed to see that the notes about the symbols are not included in the book and can only be accessed on the authors website. I found the author’s blog but not website, why not a page or two at the end of the book though? The only voice I thought was missing was Native American.  The illustrations are completely stunning, as per the style of illustrator Kadir Nelson.

EL(K-3), EL – ADVISABLE.  Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author