Little Star

by Anthony DeStefano, Mark Elliott (Illustrator)

“I think I understand!” Little Star cried out. “The baby Jesus is a king! He’s just little!”
 
A king is about to be born! The stars in the heavens are competing to shine the brightest to celebrate his birth. But when they see the poor family, the donkey, the shabby stable, the stars all think, That can’t possibly be a king. We’ve been fooled.

All except one. The smallest, loneliest star in the sky, Little Star, is the only one to understand what the king was about to bring to the world. But what can Little Star do for him? 

Certain to become a Christmas classic, this delightful tale connects the star atop our Christmas trees to the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, in the hearts and minds of young children.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday, Childrens, Picture Books, Historical Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 2010

About the author

Anthony DeStefano is the bestselling author of 20 Christian books for children and adults, including: A Travel Guide to Heaven, Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, Angels All Around Us, Little Star, and The Donkey that No One Could Ride. He has received many prestigious awards from religious organizations worldwide for his efforts to advance Christian beliefs in modern culture.

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've heard the Christmas story told from the perspective of humans and animals, now the star in the East! Cute story about the star and why it shone so brightly. Gentle message about the Christ child's humble beginnings and His love for all mankind with warm, attractive illustrations to accompany the text. My kids like to point out Little Star on each page.

[Jenny Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Spoiler Alert*

This is a story about the special star that showed the way to find baby Jesus. I like the parallels the author draws between a tiny, seemingly insignificant and overlooked star and the birth of Jesus. The illustrations are very nice with depth even in muted colors and does a fair job of differentiating between fantasy (more cartoon-like drawings of the stars) and real life (more life-like drawings of people). I also like the parallel of the tiny star giving its life for Jesus. However, like other reviewers, I don’t care for the fact that the star burns out by dawn. The Biblical star did not burn out after one night and we as Christians do not burn out when we are shining with God’s light. The book says there was to be “a special reward … given to the star who could shine the brightest on the night the baby king was born.” If the reward is that some people put a star on their tree at Christmas, I’m sorry but that’s a let down. I could see where some children would be very sensitive to this ending. Biblically, I think the ending should have been different. I would not recommend this book and I don’t know if I will keep it.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

[Emmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I really liked the very wholesome story about a little, overlooked star being the Christmas star. But, on the other hand, the star dies. In a children's book. It just felt wrong somehow. I think, especially, since the star was painted as "little" and seemed like a child. The little child is just dead now?? The father in the story tries to kind of smooth that over, but it didn't sit right.

I really liked the illustrations, too, but beardless Joseph was strangely feminine and weird, as well. I didn't care for that.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a refreshing new Christmas story for me.

[Jalynn Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

About the Book:

Tonight a king will be born, and all the stars in heaven are competing to see who can shine the brightest for him. But when the stars see the poor family huddling in the shabby stable, they begin to think that this baby couldn't be a king after all!

That is, all the stars except the smallest, loneliest star in the sky, Little Star. He recognizes the baby Jesus as the King of kings and understands His special message of love. Read on to discover the extraordinary way Little Star serves his King on that cold, dark night.
Certain to become a Christmas classic, this delightful tale connects the star atop the Christmas tree to the true meaning of Christmas--the birth of Jesus.



About the Author:

Anthony DeStefano is the bestselling author of the adult Christian books A Travel Guide to Heaven, Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, Angels All Around Us, as well as the gift book I Just Can't Take It Anymore! and the children's books This Little Prayer of Mine and The Donkey That No One Could Ride. He has received prestigious awards from religious organizations worldwide for his efforts to advance Christian beliefs in modern culture.



My Review:

Christmas is right around the corner. It seems like every year it gets closer and closer. And every year it seems that the reminder needs to be given again and again, to remind everyone what the real reason for Christmas really is. The Little Star is about a little tiny star that thought he couldn't possibly be picked to get a special reward when the king was born. As small as he was and as unspecial as he felt, he would never be picked.

Just as the events leading up to the kings birth unfolded right there for the little star to see, he soon realized what special message that the newborn king was trying to show all people. After realizing this message of a Savior, the Little Star shown as bright as he could so that everyone could find the King, it wasn't long before he burnt himself out. Soon the little boy in the beginning of the story finds out that even though what happens to the Little Star is sad, his story doesn't end there.

The illustrations in the book are sweet and soft as it tells of our King and Savior's birth. Christmas is all about the birth of that child and how he done something for us that none of us will ever repay and all he asks in return is to believe in Him and love Him. What an amazing gift!



If you are interested in purchasing this book you can visit this link .

**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Harvest House.

[ACS Book-finder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review: This children's book received the "Mom's Choice Awards Honoring Excellence." Acclaimed author Anthony DeStefano and illustrator Mark Elliott have produced a sweet nicely illustrated children's story. It is the story of a little boy whose father tells him the story of a star - a little star - in response to the boy's question, "Dad, which one is the Christmas star" as he gazes out the window at the night time sky.

Dad proceeds to tell the story of a little, not very bright, star in the heavens that was simply neglected and overlooked by the others. Then the stars began to dust themselves off because a king was about to be born and they wanted to be bright stars at the occasion. But little star wasn't dusted off.

As the story progresses, Dad explains that little star shone brightly on the little babe born in the stable in order to provide warmth for the little babe because it was such a cold night. And little star shone so brightly that he burned himself out and died.

Cute story. Sweet that little star gives greatly of himself for the little babe, but.....

I felt the story emphasized a little star that shone for one night and not the Biblical star that shined enough, and obviously many nights, to guide the wise men to the young child that was born in Bethlehem. Dad explained that the star atop the Christmas tree was the little star being remembered, but I see no need to remember a little star when we have the wondrous star that guided the wise men that we can remember if we so choose to top a tree with a Christmas star.

While this is a sweet children's book and the illustrations are very nice and use bold colors that are softened with gentle artistry to capture the essence of the story, I can not recommend it because it seems, to me, to detract from the wonderful story of the birth of the Christ Child and the star that God brought forth to guide the wise men.

DISCLOSURE: We received a complimentary copy of Little Star from Harvest House Publishers for the purpose of this review. Opinions expressed are those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This charming Christmas tale tells the story of a little boy who receives the meaning of why stars are granted the privilege of highest honour as they are placed atop the Christmas tree. One night the little boy is gazing out the window and he is trying to locate the bright Christmas star. This encourages his father to tell him this charming narrative of a very special night long, long ago.

Little Star lives among a babbling cluster of big, bright stars that engage in a lot of Twinkle talk. He is isolated and rejected by the other stars because of his size so he is a very lonely little star indeed. He hears the other stars twinkle that one night soon, an incredible event is about to occur. A king is to be born and the star that can shine the brightest will be richly rewarded. The big stars shine and glow, polish and preen for the big upcoming event. Little Star however gets passed over because of his size and insignificance in their sight. Lo and behold the night arrives that the King is born and all the stars hurry to the competition to see if they will be chosen to be the brightest and best for him. When they see him they are shocked to find that he is just a wee, insignificant baby, not a noble, proud king at all. They feel that they had been tricked, a baby, a king indeed....so they zoom away grumbling and complaining all the way.

Little Star stays however because he recognizes that the baby truly is a king....a baby king...small and insignificant... just like him. He makes up his mind to shine to the best of his ability and to bless that little baby King with all that he has to offer...which turns out to be everything he has.

The illustrations are beautiful and engaging. This retelling of the nativity story is fresh and this book is destined to be a Christmas classic. It brings a whole new meaning to the significance of the Star that sits and shines on top of your Christmas tree. I highly recommend this book be added to your Christmas book collection.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

It truly is a cute story. The little star, ignored by the other stars, has the opportunity to shine on Baby Jesus after He is born to provide warmth for Him. In his willingness, though, the little star burns out. This is why every year, people put stars on top of their Christmas tree… at least, that’s how the father explains it to his son.

The story has two good morals: giving up ourselves for others (and our all for Jesus) and little “people” can do big things, too. Little Star also explains why Jesus was born in a stable rather than a palace – “to show all the people of the world that he loved them, no matter how small or poor they were.”

However, this book had some serious shortcomings. Mary rides a donkey while Joseph leads it. Mary and Joseph stay in a “shabby stable.” The star referred to in Scripture was to guide the wise men to Jesus (Who was somewhere between the age of newborn and 2 when the wise men arrived), not to provide warmth for Jesus. The illustrator depicts Mary and Joseph as white/caucasian, and on one page, baby Jesus has a halo.

The story is presented as truth, not fiction. You may consider me a bit picky when it comes to this story, but I know that after years of growing up with the St. Francis of Assisi nativity scene, it took several years of maturing in the faith before I realized that Scripture doesn’t say that Mary rode a donkey, the “stable” was akin to a barn or lean-to, or the wise men came at the same time the shepherds did. It is important that children be able to distinguish Scriptural truth from cultural tradition, and the simplest way to accomplish this is to be extremely selective about what stories we utilize. So, I cannot recommend this book. If, however, according to your convictions, these are not “deal breakers,” you will probably enjoy this cute story about a little star.

[Jo-Anne Puggioni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book 'Little Star' by Anthony DeStefano had a long journey over from the USA and arrived in my letterbox while I had away staying overnight out of town. Unfortunately, it rained and my copy of the book got a soaking in the letterbox. After a period of time, the book eventually dried out and I was able to read it to my boy warriors, albeit a little wrinkled.

The illustrations in this book by Mark Elliot are beautiful. I enjoyed the message of the story and love the fact that it focuses on Christmas being the birth of Jesus - not dancing elves and Santa like many children's Christmas books. The book tells the story of the Christmas Star and why it came to be put on top of Christmas trees.

I enlisted some experts on children's books to help me with this review.

Leader Boy Warrior (7 years) said:
"It was really good. I like how Little Star lit up really, really, really, really bright. It was one of the best Christmas books Mum has ever read to me. I liked how it was written."
Courageous Boy Warrior (5 years) said:
"My favourite part was when Little Star stretches out his light to Jesus. I liked the book."
Fearless Boy Warrior (3 years) said:
"I liked the Little Star on top of the Christmas tree."

http://www.princesswarriorlessons.com...

[Jennifer L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Star is a children's book which would be perfect for a bedtime story around Christmas. The illustrations are beautiful. It's a charming story about the star that led the shepherds to where Jesus was born. However, I was a bit bothered by the fact that the star shone so brightly he burned out, and with an illustration of a gray, wilted looking star in the book. Some children, including myself as a child, would find this disturbing. I would have rather the star never shine brightly again and remain a “Little Star”. Although the story ends on a happy note, it still was a bit unsettling to see an illustration of a 'worn out' star. Overall this is a wonderful book for young and old. I highly expect it to become a Christmas classic!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

[Ginny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet tale of a little star who wanted to shine bright and light up baby Jesus! In typical story book fashion we meet Little Star, who doesn't really seem to fit in with anyone. When a special reward was offered to the star that could shine the brightest. Little Star wasn't even considered.

But on that special night, Little Star was the one who saw the promise in the birth of a baby in a lowly manger. Little Star sacrifices everything to touch Jesus with his love and light.

The illustrations are gorgeous, the story is touching and beautiful. In all honesty I cried reading it. This story has been added to our yearly Christmas book list.

[Jennifer Lombardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very cute Christmas story. I like the way you get the star's version of the night that Jesus was born. That is very different and I liked it alot. The pictures are great! Colorful and fun. The book was easy to read and short enough to keep our attention. I recommend it to anyone who wants their young child to know about Jesus coming into the world.

Review from my 5 year old son-"This book is really good, I liked the part where the star shinned all the way down!"

http://libbysfunbooks.blogspot.com

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to receive the book Little Star by Anthony DeStefano for review, and it is a wonderful, wonderful story. Anthony DeStefano really took a different angle on a well known story and centered it around a very unlikely figure, the Little Star that announced the birth of the Christ child. I found it to be a very touching and great Christian-based book. I would highly recommend this book!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly sweet and precious little tale! The nativity story is told in a magical and child-like way from the perspective of a sweet little star who no one else thought was worth anything important. It is delightful, uplifting and has beautiful illustrations. Precious.

[Tammy Seidel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story reminded me of Rudolph the Red... The story focused around a group of stars, one being very shy. Showing that the loud, popular don't always triumph. It's the shy, quiet, meek, and humble that previal. Of course, being a book that is about Christ, always is a plus!

[Brooke (i blog 4 books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, it didn't really impress me. The story was cute and thoughtful, but the pictures didn't wow me (particularly the pictures of Mary and Joseph). It's an "ok" book, but I would recommend others instead.

[Lisa B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful little book. This has a nice message paired with wonderful graphics.

Thank you Harvest House Publishers, via Netgalley.

[Kerry Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Children' book and Christmas gift.