Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

by Joe Rhatigan, Carolina Farias (Illustrator)

Experience a new twist on this classic nursery rhyme with the new book,  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star . A group of kittens want to get closer to their friend Twinkle, the star. Will they reach Twinkle?

Everyone loves and remembers nursery rhymes from when they were a small child. Each book in the Classic Nursery Rhymes Retold series  begins with a classic nursery rhyme , then expands on it with more wacky rhymes and fun, toddler and young child friendly nonsense.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star  is a re-imagined expansion of the wonderful rhyme. In this story, Twinkle the star has some kitten admirers on Earth that will do anything to visit their star friend. The kittens build a rocket ship , a super slingshot , and other  contraptions , hoping that one of their ideas will get them closer to Twinkle. 

Perfect for children ages 1 through 5 , Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star  will make them giggle with delight as they read this new classic over and over again.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2017

About the author

Joe Rhatigan has authored more than fifteen books for children and adults, including Don't Unravel When You Travel and Out-of-This-World Astronomy. He has also produced several best-selling books and series, including 101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12!, The Boo Boo Book, and the My Very Favorite Art Book series. Joe has been a poet, a teacher, a marketing manager, and a newspaper boy. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife and three children

Reviews

[Carla]

This book starts our with the well-known nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and then adds more. There are some kittens who would like to meet the star and try various ways to get to it. When they do not succeed, the star comes to them. Of course, stars are too bright for eyes, so the kittens ask him to go back into the sky. This is a cute little story that could be used to introduce some counting (up to three), problem solving and inventions or innovations. Just a little introduction to various critical thinking skills along with a little singalong. A cute book for pre-school classes as well as family libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Cheryl]

Great illustrations and a spin off on a familiar song have these cats taking off in a rocket.

[Bea]

I love new and funky versions of classics so I was looking forward to this book. It has cute illustrations with cute cats, lots of cute cats! While the pictures are cute, the text quickly deviates not only from the song lyrics but from song format and moves into a story format.

Four kittens want very much to go up and meet Twinkle star and they come up with creative ideas for trying to accomplish that. Using rhymes within a silly story, and cute, bright illustrations, Ratigan and Farias introduce children to simple counting, creative problem solving, and the derivative nature of literature. While not my favorite iteration of this song, it's cute and most young children will enjoy it.

[Michelle]

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was an immediate download on Edelweiss, with my background on childcare I had to get this one, just to see how far they could take the rhyming for Twinkle Twinkle.

The first thing I noticed about Twinkle Twinkle Little Star were the bold and bright illustrations, which certainly catch they eye and draw yours (or a child's) attention to the pages themselves. I was also quite impressed with how far they managed to get with the tune, and with this being a tune all my work babies know, the story is definitely going to be an easy one for children to follow, as they join in along with adults, as well as laughing at the silliness of it all.

This was a quick read which is perfect for those small quiet times for a quick story to calm things down but not too long which results in boredom.

Final Verdict
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was a well thought out and beautifully illustrated book, my only issue was with the formatting itself, but this didn't distract me too much

[Nicole]

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Joe Rhatigan is a wonderful and different version of the classic version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. This version involves cats. Twinkle twinkle is a star and her feline friends are trying to find a way to visit. But balloon, dogs, and even some cake can not help the cats get to twinkle. The upside we learn why cats “sing” at night. The illustrations are brights, colorful, and it's full of fun. It is an old book with a cute twist. 

I give this book 4/5 stars. 

I received this ARC from Quarto Publishing Group and Moondance Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

[Richelle Zirkle]

Adorable story about kittens trying to visit "Twinkle" out in the universe through any means possible. When they can't get there, Twinkle comes to them with sad results. Will they find a solution to keeping in touch with their friend?

This sweet leap from the nursery song will entertain your toddler. The pictures are humorous and perfect for the story. Their fun nature will further engage your child in the story. I highly recommend this title.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Robin]

This book tells the song of Twinkle Twinkle but with a catch..some silly kittens want to meet her! All coming up with an idea how to get them from earth to sky. I like the use of the primary colors in the book which is a bonus when reading to a younger child to help them learn their colors. Great all around book.. age groups would be 2-4


I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Ryan]

The most wonderful and different version of Twinkle Twinkle I have ever read. This one involves cats. Twinkle twinkle is a star and her feline friends are trying to find a way to visit. But balloon, and dogs, and even some cake can not help the cats get to twinkle. The upside we learn why cats “sing” at night. The illustrations are brights, colorful, and it's of fun. A new book that deserves to earn.classic standing.

[Amber Webb]

I think this book had potential but it didn't hold my attention and wasn't entertaining me. I love the idea of the book am the potential of silly stories behind the famous children's rhymes, it just fell short of my expectations. That being said, my kids enjoyed the story and had a good laugh. This book could also inspire some good conversation in upper elementary classrooms about what happened before.

[Courtney]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Such a cute book. It plays off of the classic Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and adds cats in space. The illustrations are wonderful. Great for preschool age children and up.

[Donna Maguire]

I enjoyed this book, it is a cute twist on the classic nursery rhyme/lullaby, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - a nice easy read with bright illustrations - 4 stars

[Kelsey]

Forced rhymes with too many characters drag out Twinkle Twinkle's tune.

[Emily]

Set to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" song. Read for toddler/preschool/kindergarten ST.

[Hope]

Checked out from WI Library (Baraboo); topic part of toddler curriculum from ABCJesusLovesMe

[Katie Fitzgerald]

This was a quirky take-off on the song in which some cats wish to visit a star they have nicknamed Twinkle., so they make plans to go to space. The concept felt a little too weird and silly for my taste, but my girls seemed to find it amusing, and they talked about it a bit at the dinner table the evening after we read it. For me, I think the story would have been more interesting had it not piggybacked on a favorite song, but instead just told the story without that gimmick. I probably wouldn't seek out others from this particular series.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.