I Like Stars

by Margaret Wise Brown, Joan Paley (Illustrator)

I like stars. Blue stars. Far stars. Shooting stars. I like stars!

Poem originally published in The Friendly Book (1954).

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Space, Animals, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull presentation. This short poem has zero appeal as an easy reader.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many different kinds of things and we can like them all

Talking Points - Because we like falling stars, does that mean we like stars that don't fall any less? Do we like lilacs any less because we also like hydrangeas, or roses, or tulips, or carnations? Do I love you any less because I also love your sister (or brother) and there are things I appreciate about them as well? Can we love and appreciate many people and things at the same time without diminishing our love? Is there a finite amount of love or an infinite amount love that we can have?

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great early reader book about space/stars. The illustrations were cute and colorful, and the text was perfectly based on simplistic sight words for very young readers. The only thing that I didn’t enjoy is that the book talked about stars of different colors, which could confuse children about space facts.

[Mely · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring.... But for what it's worth, I bumped it up a star simply because it is very easy text to read for beginners.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning reader, short book about stars. Yellow stars, blue stars, etc. Great for a bedtime story!

[Emily Carter-Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty bland book.

[Brighton Hulsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The different color stars!

[Aleisha Froude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book. My five year old and my two year old liked it.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, it's not her greatest. But I like it because I like stars too!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for kids who start reading.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Like Stars (Step into Reading, Step 1) by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Joan Paley is an easy reader about the many kinds of stars there are to like. I read the board book version. Apparently this was originally part of The Friendly Book that was published in 1954 by Golden Books.

Paley's bright, colorful illustrations match Brown's simple text well. Rabbit, frog, bird, and mouse are featured. My favorite images are through window, green, four colors, and last page.

Using 24 words and some repetition, Brown's simple text is perfect for both easy reader or board book. For the board book edition, colors could be practiced. For beginning readers this provides practice and should encourage beginning readers.

For ages 1.5 to 6, beginning readers, board book, stars, animals, and fans of Margaret Wise Brown and Joan Paley.

[Martin Kurniadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a quickie book that makes you want to go out to the balcony and look at the stars.

This book opens up the child in me again, and in this book I could see the Margaret's happiness when she was out on that night, looking at the stars; I was taken aback to become a child again.

I really like this book, for it encourages me to dream, to know that out there, there are still stars looking at you, cares for you, and knows that even if you are alone, they are there for you.
And no matter how different stars are, the yellow ones, the red ones, the green ones, the blue ones, the bright ones, and the stars close to us, or even stars far away - they light up our world, and makes us happy.

Nice read.

[Rbettermann]

I Like Stars is a beautifully illustrated beginners book. The illustration is by Joan Paley and her use in colors and arrangement is calming and inviting. I would use this as a picture book and introduce a few vocabulary words to accompany it. I could incorporate this book along with a science lesson as an added activity.

[Stephanie Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet little book! The simplicity of it allows small children to participate easily, yet it still captures their imagination. My favorite phrase is, "shining right straight in your eye."

I like stars!

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Baby/Toddler Story Time on 6/26/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Drop-In Story Time on 8/2/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took this out thinking we might read it after Natalie's Twilight Turtle arrived, but we never did. We took out a board book edition. It was a nice poem and pleasant illustrations, but did not have that special something for me.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little one loves finding stars everywhere so I'm glad we stumbled upon this one at the library today. She is two, so the very simple text was great for her and also made a fast read. We counted the stars, found different colors, and read the text many times. Great for little ones!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning reader book

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Margaret Wise Brown. Josh says I like stars, too. Most of the star colors are real. The only star color that is not real is green.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

It will help your beginner reader - looking for a book to read in Oral Interp Class

[Kate Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-K - K. Very simple, repetitive text about colors for the earliest of readers.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text is great, the art is blah. Is this a reillustration of an older edition? If so, I'd like to see that one.

[Alexandra Chauran · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one doesn't translate well to the Kindle for kids.

[Tiny Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars both for the art and the content.
I like stars, too! Hahaha.

[DrosoPHila · Rating 2 out of 5]

For best effect read with a Manchester accent a la Brian Cox.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly boring to read aloud, but I suppose it serves its purpose as an easy reader.