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

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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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Xenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom and Milagros Darling – Review by Stephanie Robb

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Xenia Navarro and the Magic AntsXenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book follows the main character Xenia and her family, living as undocumented immigrants in America. The themes of immigration and deportation are addressed in a way that children can understand but I would recommend reading it with an adult to help discuss the themes. As always another beautiful and education book from this author.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Darla Yocom

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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 adorable book follows a human school child, Shirl and their alien friend, Eee-Ahh. Shirl explains why she goes to school and how she enjoys hearing stories every day. Intrigued, Eee-Ahh chooses to go with Shirl the next day, as she too enjoys stories. While the other children immediately notice how different Eee-Ahh is from the others, they quickly become enamored with constellations and where she comes from.

I think children and adults will enjoy this book and the dynamics between the very open minded teacher and the children’s incredibly curious minds. Astrology is always a great subject to share with children and they may often come up with their very own ideas of what shapes they can find in the stars.

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

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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 will admit this book did have me shed a few tears. Owning pets is one of the best things but having to say good bye to them is heart breaking. Poor Shadow! The children in this book show such compassion towards Oscar and Emmy and they also did towards the stray cat Shadow.
This book is a great story to help explain to children about what happens when animals become poorly. The illustrations in the book are lovely as well.

@katiem
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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Katie Matthews

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

This is such a lovely story. I love Amaleigha, she is such an insightful little girl considering her age. I love that she was able to make friends with someone who has a completely different life to her. Through writing to Vova and learning about the war in his country enabled Amaleigha to think about how she can support him and his country even from thousands of miles away.
This is such a great story to read to children to help them understand different countries in the world and what is happening there.

@katiem
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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Tausha Treadway

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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

Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom. This is my very favorite Children’s author so I try to pick up all her books. They are great for reading, teaching kids about different things and gifting. In this book we meet Shirl and her alien friend Eee-Ahh. Eee-Ahh comes to visit Shirl and ends up going to school with her. While she’s there Eee-Ahh teaches Shirl’s classmates about her planet and all the cool things there. She also learns about the other planets and makes a lot of new friends. This is such a fun, educational book for kids age 4-8. My 5 year old nephew loved it.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Shelly Kittell

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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

Shirl and her friend are back to teach us about constellations. What a fun story. I loved the information about the constellations and the pictures. The stories are always so very informative. It’s another favorite in this household.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Ayla Phipps

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

Thought provoking. Informative. Inspirational. This is the first book I have read by the talented Janice Pratt and honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect which led to a huge surprise.
Amaleigha is an American third grade student. Her teacher Mr. Bowels has exciting news about the class having pen pals across the world in the Ukraine. Throughout the book her class learns about the Ukraine, their customs and history between waiting for their next letters. Suddenly, Vova, her pen pal and several others are saying the same things that the news is. Russia has declared war on Ukraine, and they don’t know when they can write again. Determined to try and help Amaleigha and her class work together to help their new friends.
This book covers several levels of curiosity. About other countries outside your own, the customs and traditions of others, empathy for others, and finding ways to help when you feel too small to do anything. I read this book to my two sons, eleven and six, and they both started asking more questions, asking if it was real, if it was still happening and if we could do anything to help. This book helps children understand that just because we live in different places and do things differently it doesn’t mean we are different. Amaleigha instantly saw the similarities in her and Vova. The book doesn’t necessarily have an end, but it ends with a prayer. For the children, families, and people of Ukraine.

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Brandy Vaughn

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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

This book covers the difficult topic of what to do when an animal we love becomes so ill that a choice needs to be made about the animal’s welfare. It’s a difficult topic when our pets are ready to cross the rainbow bridge and this book covers that topic well. I like how the children in the story are able to help in the end of life care for an animal they care about. The story is well written and age appropriate.

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Tausha Treadway

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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

Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscar and Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol. This book is so good for kids aged 5-11 who have pets and have to go thru the horrible part of losing that pet. Oscar and Emmy are 2 pet cats and they are very well cared for. Their children have found a stray cat outside and they have been feeding it. Oscar and Emmy’s owners have taken it to the vet to get it fixed and they are doing their best to take care of it. When they notice its health declining their owners take it to the vet again and have to make the horrible decision to euthanize. This book will help kids process the awful process of losing a pet and the aftermath of it. This would make a great gift for a family mourning their pet.

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscar and Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Betsy Melano

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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

A beautiful and thoughtfully written story that can be hard for some to talk about. Although I have never needed to have a pet euthanize a family pet. This book makes it easier to have the conversation with children. The story is about a family with 2 cats, named Oscar and Emmy, that help a neighborhood stray cat who they soon discover is very sick. I would definitely consider reading this story to my children if we were to find our beloved pet is hurting, needing comfort, love, and affection as he or she takes their last breath.

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Shannon Fowler

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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

After recently having to put my own cat, Simba, down due to cancer, this book was spot on. The vet we used was very compassionate as was the vet in this story. After reading this story and taking a moment to remember my own experience, I went back and enjoyed the pictures as well. This author uses words simply enough for young children to understand and encourages questions for better understanding.
Can’t say I enjoyed reading this story but when is death ever an enjoyable read. However, this story was nicely done.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Dawn Mitchell

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

This is a cute story about kids making new friends and learning about the pen pal program. I myself learned about Ukraine so your child will also. It is an easy read. I loved having a pen pal as a kid so it definitely brought back memories.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Kerry Baker

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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

As usual, our household was so excited to get our hands on another Lous Wickstrom book. Especially this one given my son’s newfound fascination with rockets. We all got into the book so easily and found it to be entertaining and educational. The story asks the characters match each other perfectly.
We had already read this book multiple times and I am sure we will be reading if many times more.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Tanya Wall, September 2023

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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

A great children’s book that introduces them to what constellations are. I enjoyed the illustrations and the visit of the little alien to a school on Earth. It was interesting how he had different names for his constellations, based on what he/they thought they looked like as opposed to what we named them. The end of the book has a list and pictures of the constellations.

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Dawn Mitchell

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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

This was the sweetest childrens book. It explains to kids what happens to animals or pets when they become sick and/or dying. The author does an outstanding job at explaining every step of the way an process for the family, children an vet. Down to the sweet, caring details. Also love the rainbow bridge explanation at the end!

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Lorralei Hoerner

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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

5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Eee-ahh and Shirl are back with a Rocketship Made of Stars. This book is fun, imaginative, educational and the illustrations were colorful and engaging. I really enjoyed this book and although this is for ages 4-8, I believe this story can be enjoyed by the young and the young at heart like me.

Eee-ahh is back on earth and is so happy that she goes to school with Shirl one day so she may hear stories. Eee-ahh meets new friends along the way and also learns all about stars and constellations. Shirl and her friends learn about where Eee-ahh and her stars.

This is a cute, fun story. Loving the learning aspect with all sorts of constellations and what each of them mean.

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Jennifer Reimer

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

This was a very charming, wonderful children’s book. Amaleigha gets a pen pal with a Ukrainian boy which grows into a friendship. When things seem like their getting hard for Vova the class decides to try and do something wonderful and generic to for the community in Ukraine. This book was very well illustrated, and the pictures flows and went well with the story. this was a very inspirational and inspiring story on how no mater what you can make a difference in someone’s life. My kids really enjoyed this book.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Tonya Merritt

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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

In this installment of Eee-ahh and Shirl’s adventures, Eee-agh follows Shirl to school to hear stories. They have a good time and learn about Eee-aah’s home and constellations. Constellations have many different names. As always it’s a fun, informative book with great illustrations.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Manda Kelly

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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. It’s got a lot of information in it, too. While the pictures are engaging, the reader is also learning about constellations, and space. As well as a lesson in accepting new people and understanding worlds others come from. I would say this book would be good for ages 5 and up. But younger kids would probably enjoy the story, too.

Review By: Manda Kelly 2023

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt – Review by Dawn Daughenbaugh

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

5 Star’s
Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend is a wonderfully written children’s book that my son and I truly enjoyed reading. We love reading about Amaleigha and what she’s doing. My son just started kindergarten and is very excited about learning all the things. What we love most about this author and her books is the message you take away from reading her books. Amaleigh’s class learns about Ukraine and having pen pals .They all get letters from their pen pals all while learning about them and what they like to do. Amaleigh learned so about from her pen pal vova. My son now wants a pen pal. We loved this book and the illustrations bring the story to life. I highly recommend reading this book. We look forward to reading more from this Author .

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscar And Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Cindy Mayberry

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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 love informative children’s stories! This has everything a parent could ask for, when it comes to explaining pet loss to a child. The way the author walked through the steps that follow a sick pet were spot on. Oscar and Emmy asked many questions along the way, which opened up conversation between the Parents, Veterinarians and Children. The pictures told the story as well. Which made for the perfect story for fur baby loss. What a great introduction to The Rainbow Bridge. This book is a must have for all children’s book shelves.

Review@cinful

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien Book #2) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Angela Hayes

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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

 

3.5 Stars

 

Rocketship Made of Stars is the second book in the ‘I Am An Alien” series by Lois Wickstrom. It is another fun children’s fantasy story where we join Shirl and her alien friend Eeh-Ahh as they talk, and learn about, constellations. The story is fun and imaginative, whist teaching children about constellations and the stars- there is also themes of friendship, acceptance, being different, and fitting in. There are several pictures with the names of constellations in the back of the book.
Get set for a fun, quirky, and engaging read.
Happy reading…

 

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Megan Conley

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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

Wickstrom has done it again! She has taken a unique twist to teaching kids about constellations using Shirl and Eee-ahh’s friendship and adventures. I love how she always integrates cool stories with scientific based facts into her books. She also throughs in acceptance and tolerance as well. At the end of the book, she has great information about constellations as well. I highly recommend this book for your star and space loving littles!

Reviewed by @meggs1717

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Jennifer Crain

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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

Although I liked this book lesser than some of the other scientifically based Lois Wickstrom’s books, it is still worth reading. An alien comes to Earth and tells stories his culture tells of the sky, which leads into learning about constellations, complete with diagrams of real constellations in the back. I did enjoy how the story has the characters taking turns telling their version, and the fact the teacher doesn’t question why an alien is in her classroom shows great inclusivity! As with all the books in this series and Lois Wickstrom’s other books, colorful, engaging illustrations accompany the text.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Jenni Bishop

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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

Rocket Ship Made of Stars is a fun story by Lois Wickstrom. It is an educational look at constellations for children aged 4 to 8 years. We first met Shirl and her new friend Eeh-ahh in the book I Am An Outer Space Alien (I am an Alien).
Impressionable little minds open up to any and all possibilities of other life forms and whole new worlds beyond the stars. Lois helps with shaping and the development of young ones as they once again go on alien adventures.
The story of Eeh-ahh the Alien and her world is brought to lie with vivid, colourful and bright illustrations by Nicolas Milano.
Who doesn’t love a good story with Aliens, Rocket ships, stars and much more?
There are many more adventure stories just waiting for you to explore from Lois.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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Oscar and Emmy Lose a Friend (Oscarand Emmy Series) by Terri Sabol – Review by Daryian Lucas

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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

5/5 Stars
This book tackles very difficult topics in a great way. It’s written in a way that young readers will be able to understand and appreciate what they are reading. Grief is always a hard thing to explain to children but this book does an excellent job of making it easier.

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Betsy Melano

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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

A cute kids book about constellations! I enjoyed reading it with my kids, they are a bit older and are good readers. We had a good discussion about constellations after we finished reading. I enjoyed reading about Shirl and her alien friend Eee-ahh going to school. The kids and the teacher are inquisitive and everyone seemed to learn a great deal about constellations and seeing them from different points of view. I think younger kids that are interested in stars would really enjoy this story.

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Xenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom and Milagros Darling – Review by Christine Baranek

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Xenia Navarro and the Magic AntsXenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the longest Lois Wickstrom book I have read and I love to see something that is for some older children than usual. This story focuses on somewhat of a heavier topic than her usual fare so I would not recommend this one for her usual preschool / kindergarten crowd, but it is more for late elementary.
In this story we meet a main character who has an undocumented immigrant for a mother and a father who was U.S. Military. However, he passed away before being able to marry, Xenia’s, (the main character) mother. This means that Xenia and her brother are U.S. citizens. This is a reality for many children living in the U.S. right now. Lois Wickstrom does a great job addressing this in a way that is accessible to children this young and does not make it stigmatizing in any way. She also shows the challenges that this poses Xenia and her family and how they have to try to avoid drawing attention to themselves. When their worst fears come to fruition Xenia and her family have to get creative to see each other and also have to rely on the kindness of others.
This is quite possibly the best Lois Wickstrom book I have read and I love the way she addresses this topic. She handles this reality in such a light hearted way that does not make it inaccessible to the children who read it. But it also does a great job of really showing the reality for families in these situations. I highly recommend this one!

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Rocketship Made of Stars (I am an Alien) by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Alison Risher

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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

The main character brings an alien to school with her. There are no security hoops to jump through in order for this to happen. The main character has classmates who are kind to their class visitor. The teacher and the children discuss constellations. Different cultures have different names and stories for the same constellations.

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