So begins this enchanting story of a little girl sent to her room (without dessert!) to reflect on being sorry. Alone in her bedroom, Mariella feels cold, hollow and afraid. But then she looks out of her window and sees stars falling from the sky …
She scoops up a handful and sticks them in her slippers, and suddenly she feels like dancing! She's tapping and swaying and shimmying to the sounds of a clarinet, a piano, a trombone, a guitar and a saxophone — she's 'dancing the music inside her and she felt like she could do it for hours'.
After a while, though, Mariella notices that the moon looks sad up there, all alone, without any stars. And she pictures a world without a starry blanket at night. She realises she has to return the stars so that everyone can share in the starlight magic … and so she does.
Mariella is clearly a girl with spirit and imagination. Together with her little lizard companion, she twirls and spins her way through the pages, inviting young readers to share in her world where stars exist to make sure no one ever feels lost or lonely for long.
Title: Mariella and the Stars
Author: Selena Hanet-Hutchins
Illustrator: Michelle Pike
Publisher: ABC Books, $24.99 RRP
Publication Date: August 2009
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780733323393
For ages: 4–7
Type: Picture Book
