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The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight) by N.L. Holmes

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The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight) by N.L. Holmes
Genre – Historical, Family
Page Count – 331
Cover Designer – Streetlight Graphics

Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man’s orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.

A young cousin she has never met becomes a pretender to the throne and mobilizes roving armies of the poor and dispossessed, which causes the priority of her loyalties to become even more suspect. However, Ehli-nikkalu discovers a terrible secret that could destabilize the present regime if the pretender ever learns of it.

With the help of a kindly scribe, her brave young ward, and an embittered former soldier trapped in debt and self-doubt, Ehli-nikkalu sets out to save the kingdom and prove herself to her father. And along the way, she learns something about love.

~ AMAZON ~

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N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist who received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin (also a writer today) used to write stories for fun.

Author Interview with N.L. Holmes

☥ ~ 🛕 ~ 👁 ~ ⚱ PREORDER ⚱ ~ 👁 ~ 🛕 ~ ☥ The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight) by N.L. Holmes

☥ ~ 🛕 ~ 👁 ~ ⚱ PREORDER ⚱ ~ 👁 ~ 🛕 ~ ☥
The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight) by N.L. Holmes
Genre – Historical, Family
Page Count – 331
Cover Designer – Streetlight Graphics
Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man’s orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.

A young cousin she has never met becomes a pretender to the throne and mobilizes roving armies of the poor and dispossessed, which causes the priority of her loyalties to become even more suspect. However, Ehli-nikkalu discovers a terrible secret that could destabilize the present regime if the pretender ever learns of it.

With the help of a kindly scribe, her brave young ward, and an embittered former soldier trapped in debt and self-doubt, Ehli-nikkalu sets out to save the kingdom and prove herself to her father. And along the way, she learns something about love.

Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium by Lois Wickstrom

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Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium by Lois Wickstrom
Genre – Kids
Page Count – 236
Cover Designer – Ty Meier
While on his birthday cruise, Jack spies a mermaid. He finds her later in the secret room at Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium. Lily lost her sylphs when her father moved to Florida. Like her other friends, her sylphs stayed behind. But now they are looking for her in Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium. Audrey sees herself as a noble knight, whose duty is to slay a dragon. She seeks one at Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium, and she intends to slay it. And Nick has been lying about a bad gnome causing all the trouble at his house. He finds a really bad gnome at Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium. Why is Mr. Barsin giving out imaginary playmates? Are they in danger?

~ AMAZON ~

Click here to view the Book Trailer for Mr. Barsins’ Toy Emporium by Lois Wickstrom

Click here to experience a Chapter Reading of Mr. Barsins’  Toy Emporium by Lois Wickstrom

Lois Wickstrom lives in a world where imaginary playmates are real. She doesn’t remember being born, so she finds unbirthdays are more exciting than the official once-a-year date on the calendar. She’s taken so many science classes that she believes science is the solution to almost every problem, including the dilemmas in fairy tales.

She writes by herself. She writes with co-authors. She asks illustrators what they would like to draw. If she ever writes her autobiography, the title will be My Life as a Group Project.

Her mother used to get angry with her for daydreaming. Her little sister picked on her. So she lived in books and wrote her own stories in which the bad-guys made sense, and the good-guys had a chance. As she has grown older, her imagination has grown weirder. Even she doesn’t know what she will write next.

Author Interview with Lois Wickstrom

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscar And Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Hannah Porter

Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5.Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5. by Terri Sabol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this story tonight with my child, my little one stayed intrigued almost the whole time. This is my first time reading a story by Terri Sabol. I really liked the message this story has( what it’s like to lose a beloved pet),but it also made me sad as we just recently went through something similar with our dog, and he crossed the rainbow bridge. I will definitely keep the story for reading later as my child gets older and we have more pets 🥰I also like the design, it was very colorful and eye-catching.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Crystal Brehant

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second story in the I Am An Alien series. My son and I always love Lois Wickstrom’s books and that hasn’t changed. In the first book we meet Shirl who believes Earth is not her home. She reaches out to the universe and gets into contact with an alien named Eee-aah who also feels like her planet is not her home. In this book, Eee-aah goes to school with Shirl. We learn all about Eee-aah. The educational information at the end is a fun addition.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Crystal Brehant

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great kids story about how friendship can expand beyond borders. Not only that, it discusses what is going on in Ukraine. This is something that is hard for kids to understand. The story helps kids to understand this difficult subject in a kid-friendly way.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Heather Bass

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is too cute. I read this one to my niece and she loved it as well. I love how the author makes science fun and very interesting. This adventure is about the stars and their constellations.
The main character Shirl takes her friend Eee Ahh to school with her. Eee Ahh is an alien from another planet. The teacher is teaching all about the constellations on earth and where they got their names from. Will Shirl and Eee Ahh have the same names?
Review by @heatherbass

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Shadel Ayerbe

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt is a great family book that teaches people of events

The third-grade class at Happy Days Elementary begins a new pen pal exchange program with youngsters from Ukraine.Vova, a nine-year-old kid who enjoys education, science, and learning about various cultures, is a pen pal of Amaleigha’s.Vova and Amaleigha correspond frequently. They develop close friendships through their correspondence as they discover one another’s favorite foods and customs.

Every page had you hanging on every sentence and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen. It is a very unique story with even compelling people. The story really transports you into this world. I couldn’t put the book down.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Elizabeth Sanchez

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amaleigha Makes a Friend is a wonderful and inspiring children’s book. This is not the first book about Amaleigha I have read to my son. We love them- the stories are deep and meaningful topics, written in a light and meaningful way for children. The illustrations are bright and colorful. We hardly got a couple pages in before my son was asking me to google things- Is that a real place? What does it look like? What does that food look like? Can we try it? Can we celebrate Christmas that long? Did the war happen? On and On. I loved it- this story really got his little mind running and he did not slow down. We didn’t even finish the book before he had me messaging his teacher to ask about setting up a pen pal for his class in another country. I will always recommend this author, and have passed along this book to my son’s 2nd grade teacher. Thank you for another great book!

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Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Shannon Fowler

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good story about pen pals…brings back memories of me and my pen pals. One in school and one as an adult before social media took off. Great way to learn about other people and countries. Good information about how war affects children and families even when the crisis is somewhere else. Cute illustrations as well.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Tonya Merritt

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I remember having pen pals when I was in elementary school. Of course we wrote to people in the United States though. I loved the story and how we learned just as much as Amaleigha about Ukraine. It was wonderfully written and perfectly detailed for young children.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Gillian Fawell

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was beautiful and made me cry! Such a sweet story of two young people communicating across the world – it just goes to show that children know the true meaning of friendship. I also learnt a lot about the Ukraine and its culture through this story! Definitely recommended!

 

Reviewed by @sparkinside

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Amelia Stansell

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great story for kids. Happy Days Elementary got to have pen pals and they wrote to kids in Ukraine. Amaleigha gets to write to Vova, they become quick friends. They ask each other all sorts of questions. They soon find out that a war has been called in Ukraine. Amaleigha and her class help raise money, to try and help everyone out.

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Amaleigha Makes A New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amaleigha is a young girl in 3rd grade and one day her teacher, Mr Bowles, announces that they are going to be getting a pen pal and writing to students of a school in Ukraine and everyone is excited about this opportunity, so they cannot wait to see who is going to be their pen pal. Amaleigha is paired with a girl called Vova, she is given a card with some details about Vova and she writes her first letter asking some questions and showing her interest about learning about Vova’s life and soon the class’s letters are ready and sent off.

As the class are waiting for their letters, they start to learn more about Ukraine and its traditions, culture and life in general and this helps them to write their letters, that is until one day when their letters spoke about something other than excitement to learn more about each other, the possibility of a war with Russia.

What does this mean for Amaleigha and Vova’s friendship through letters and how will this war impact them both? This is a book which talks about current events in a way that is fun, but also serious at the same time and is a wonderful way to show how to handle the emotions that go along with them, it is brilliant for all ages and well worth a read.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Katie Kearney

Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5.Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5. by Terri Sabol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book I was iffy on from the start I mean it’s a hard subject matter but I’ll be honest by the end I’m actually really glad I got it. Sometimes as parents we sugar coat hard stuff for our kids, this book took a hard situation for people of all ages really and handled it with clear information but also the heart side of it. My nieces thought it was a good book to help kids understand this part of pet owning and such. The illustrations were beautifully done.Four stars for a good story that touched our hearts.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Katie Kearney

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute book that I enjoyed reading with my nieces ages 10 and 11. Each of them took turns reading, each did very well so it was easy to read and understand. This story actually really had them wanting to also have a pen pal. It’s a story that also had us learning new things about a different place so that was fun, it also had some difficult subject matter but this author handled it wonderfully. My nieces really got hooked and it opened a lot of different conversations with them about different parts of the world. The art work wasn’t every page but when it was there it was colorful and well done.Over all we’d give this book a four star rating and my nieces would like more stories like this.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Tausha Treadway

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt. I enjoyed this book so much. Its a great kids book but even as a old lady, I enjoyed it. Amaleigha’s class has decided to be pen pal’s with kids from other countries. When Amaleigha picks a young boy from Ukraine they become fast friends. Vova is 9 years old and loves going to school and playing with his friends. No one had a clue that while they were pen pals that a war would break out in Ukraine and Vova would go from a happy go lucky child to a child scared to death for him and his family. Bombs are going off all around him and his dad has signed up with the Ukraine Services. No knowing what might happen to his dad scares Vova the most. This is such a great book for ages 4 to 8 but like I said I think all ages will enjoy it. Such a educational, emotional read.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Jules Herbert

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A young girl Shirl and her Alien friend Eee-ahh go to school together and the lesson is about constellations. This is a fantastic read to engage young ones in science and learning with fun illustrations from a very creative author.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Carrie Reed

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great artwork, I love how colorful the book is. This is a fun book to teach kids about stars and constellations, especially the with the back of the book listing different constellations and the shape they would appear in the sky. Very informational and fun to think aliens are out there.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Cindy Mayberry

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is such an informative children’s story. A story with learning and fun, for both adults and children. Eee-ahh goes to school to learn, but the teacher wants to know where she lives. Therefore the lesson begins for all, including you the reader. I absolutely love this story. As well as the author. Her imagination opens so many doors for children. Creating so many projects and activities for all who read her book. The story is short enough to keep the children’s interest, and includes so much more. I hope you and your little ones enjoy it as much as my grandchildren do.
Review@cinful

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Carrie Reed

Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5.Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend: A story about pet loss and saying goodbye to a furry friend. Ages 5-11 and kindergarten through grade 5. by Terri Sabol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The art in this book is so beautiful, and my heart really hurt reading this one. Putting your pet down is very heartbreaking not only for you as the human but for any pet friends they had. I teared up on this one, but it is a great learning tool to explain to children why their pet would have to be put to sleep permanently.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Moriah Venable

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amaleigha is given the opportunity to write to children in other countries by her teacher, Mr Bowles.

Before they are able to write to children in Ukraine, they learn more about the country, such as it is the second largest European country.

After learning a bit about the country, Amaleigha is excited to write to her pen pal to ask them questions about the country!

The day arrives where she is finally able to write to her pen pal! Mr. Bowles passes out notecards with names and Amaleigha writes to Vova. She tells him about her family, where she goes to school and even her favorite food.

They wait for the responses and sometime later, Amaleigha receives hers. Vova tells Amaleigha that they are learning about America in school and reading books by Ukrainian authors. He also explains about his daily life and that he may want to be an artist.

Reading this made me wish that we had done something similar to this when I was in school. It seems like a great way to discover more about a different country and how other people live.
In one correspondence, Amaleigha and other students read a letter that mentions war with Russia which causes the students to be worried about their pen pals and the people of Ukraine.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a short read. It was a lot more descriptive and an emotional roller coaster than I thought.

I learned a lot about Ukraine. War is scary and just because war is not happening around someone, doesn’t mean one shouldn’t stay informed or finds ways to help.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Emily H

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shirl and her friend Eee-ahh, who is an alien, head to school together. The teacher is teaching the class about constellations and Eee-ahh shows different planets and how you connect the dots to show images. Shirl and her friends share their constellations as well.

Great story to engage children into looking at the stars and seeing the constellations. I think this is a wonderful way to start a conversation with young children and get them interested in science.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Darian Vester

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love the concept of this book and I like that it encourages pen pals and learning about other countries/cultures. There are nice facts about Ukraine and I do think it’s a good book to start the conversation of the war over there. The book actually caused me to do my own research because the term “old country” was used frequently. I spoke to a couple people and we all see that phrase as like a third world country. I feel this is a good book for older kids because the mentioning of people getting shot when leaving their home might scare younger kids. The book is longer than most children stories but there illustrations are great and they make a nice break between pages.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Rayne East

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Engaging and education
As always with this author’s books there is wonder amongst the pages. Rocketship Made of Stars is an entertaining and educational book that teaches children, aged 4-8 years, about the constellations in a fun and engaging way. The illustrations are bright and detailed and the writing easy to follow with the added message about acceptance of differences interwoven. Recommend for any home or class library.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Carlie Del Gallo

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lois Wickstrom has done it again! This is an adorable book that is not only engaging for children but adults who read this with the kids! This book is science being made entertaining for everyone reading it! This book was about constellations and kids learning about them. I enjoyed reading this book! I cannot wait to read this with my best friends children. I know that they will love this book as much as I did! The graphics were also amazing and colorful.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Elizabeth Sanchez

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rocketship Made of Stars is the 2nd book in the children’s series I am an Alien. While it does follow the first book, it is cute and can be read without the previous book. Shirl has a friend who is an alien, that we met in the first book. The alien’s name is Eee-ahh, and has landed on Earth and decided to stay a while. She decides to go to school with Sherl one day, to listen to the stories. Turns out, the kids are just as interested in HER story, and she is in theirs. They learn about constellations and the different names for them. It is a cute, but educational story. My seven year old enjoyed it, but we both struggle to see pictures in the common constellations.

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Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Melissa Saxton

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A beautifully done story about an American 3rd grader and her pen pal from Ukraine. As the story unfolds war breaks out, causing concern for her pen pal.
This book takes a delicate topic and shows us from the eyes of a child. We sometimes forget children see the world very differently. This is a great story to immerse your kids in different cultures and to explain our ever changing world climate

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Terri Jo McAllister

Amaleigha Makes a New FriendAmaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very cute story of a young girl and her pen pal, who is from Ukraine. The book includes information on their lifestyle and some customs. Very informative. I had a pen pal when I was younger and loved writing and receiving letter

Reviewed by Terri Jo McAllister

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Candice Estes

Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations (I am an Alien)Rocketship Made of Stars: Naming Constellations by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a cute book for grade school age kids. My 9 and 10 year old enjoyed it. Shirl is a little girl on Earth who reaches out to the vast reaches of the Universe by sending out a radio transmission that Eee-aah, an alien from a far away planet, responds to. Eee-aah is excited to go to school with Shirl, and Shirl is equally excited to introduce her new friend to her schoolmates. While Shirl and Eee-aah are at school, the young alien talks to Shirl’s class about her home planet and the constellations that can be seen from it, as well as the constellations that can be seen from Earth, with help from the other students and the teacher. The illustrations are fantastic, and the information section at the end of the book about constellations is an excellent addition.

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