The Stuff of Stars

Title: The Stuff of Stars

Author: Marion Dane Bauer

Illustrator: Ekua Holmes

Genre: Coretta Scott King

Awards: 2019 Coretta Scott King

Age Group: 1st-3rd 

The Stuff of Stars tells about how the world was created and everything it. It begins with darkness, except for a single twinkling star in a sea of black. Then, there was a giant bang, creating our universe. The stars exploded, shooting stardust all around. That created the planets. Earth just happened to be in the perfect spot, and life was created from stardust. The story ends with another single, twinkling star off in the distance. This time, when it exploded, it created you and me; we are all made from stardust.

I do not think I will be using this book in my classroom, even though the illustrations are beautiful. If I had to teach my students about the Big Bang Theory, I may consider using this book since it portrays it in a simple way for children. Otherwise, I wouldn't purchase this book for my classroom seeing as I believe we are each made fearfully and wonderfully by God and are much, much more than just stardust.

I would say that this book is aimed towards 1st-3rd graders, as it presents the Big Bang Theory and evolution simply and in a way that is not overly scientific. There is not too much text, and it flows poetically, so it would be appealing for younger students.

The Stuff of Stars would fit right in with an astronomy unit. Here are a few star-related activities that would be fun to do:

• Space Sensory Box: Perfect for younger kids, you could include dark sand, glitter, glow in the dark pieces, and little pom poms to represent stars.
• Marshmallow Constellations: Learn about constellations while creating your own out of toothpicks and marshmallows against a dark sheet of construction paper.
• Telescope and the Night Sky: Create a telescope out of a toilet paper roll, print out a constellation pattern to fit over the opening of the telescope, and punch out each "star" with a push pin. Secure the constellation to the opening of the tube. Then, project a flashlight through the tube while pointing it towards a dark sheet of paper. Voila! A DIY constellation.