Ginger Nielson ~ An Illustrator's Journal

A review for the Star Giver by Katherine Boyer.

There is nothing as sweet as a child who asks questions about the world around him or her.  “Why is the sky blue?”  “Where do babies come from?”  are the two that immediately come to mind.  In this case, Little Bear wants his mother to tell him where the stars come from. It gives her a chance to tell him a Native American folktale that will entertain him as well as relate a fascinating story.. 
            With beautiful l illustrations done in Native American colors, Mrs. Nielson illustrates the story, as it unfolds through the word of Mother Bear and the imagination of Little Bear. 

            The Star Giver holds the stars close until night, when it is time to release them, then waits until morning to finish his task.  You will love sharing this story with your children at bedtime, as well as any other time of the day.  And she tells you to look for the “secret on the last page of this book”.  What is it?  You need to get the book to find out.               

            From her website: “Ginger Nielson lives at the top of a hill, near the edge of a forest in semi-rural New Hampshire, USA. There is a magic wand on her desk, a dragon in her basement, and a tiny elephant in her studio. Everything else is nearly normal.”  Sounds like a great place for her imagination to run rampant through the wonderful, imaginative stories that she illustrates, whether that of her own or another writer.