Ada and the Galaxies

Lively, masterful watercolor illustrations capture Maine's exhilarating currents of wind and water, its spiky evergreen needles, knobby seaweed, and bristly bird feathers. They convey Ada's emotions too, through vignettes of her agonized squirms when evening fog blankets the stars. Chapman's impressive specificity dissolves in a magical, breathtaking spread of the fog, hovering all around the cottage at dusk, a murky, muted diffusion of evening light and moisture. . . . Young readers will delight in seeing our universe's interconnectedness, and, later, when Ada's family dashes outside to spin in starlight, they will recognize the inextricable bonds among loved ones.

New Yorker Ada, who has brown skin and curly hair, is delighted to arrive at her grandparents' Maine island house, where clear skies make it possible to view the stars she can't see in the city. It's hard to wait for nightfall, though, even when Poobah describes the way he measures time. "See that big rock over there?" he says, pointing to the edge of the water. "Today, when it's completely covered with water, it'll be dark enough to see the stars." But the weather is unpredictable, and when fog rolls in, Poobah and Ada pore over a book whose photos offer images of galaxies--"a lot of stars swarming around one another like bees"--from the Hubble telescope. "I want to go there," says Ada, pointing to one. "It would take about a million million years to get there," rejoins learned Poobah. It's this dynamic that debut picture book author Lightman, a physicist, and Pastuchiv (Riparia's River) hold up: what it's like to gain and share enthusiasm for the wonder that touches every part of the universe. Chapman (Elizabeth Warren's Big, Bold Plans) has refined a loose-lined wash style that draws power from glowing light sources, creating night skies that glitter and seawater that sparkles. Ages 4-6. (Sept.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Pastuchiv uses vivid watercolor and layered photographs taken from the Hubble Space Telescope to visualize the text, showing the wildlife of the island and the wonders of the heavens. . . . Children will enjoy looking at the colorful images and learning about low and high tide, coastal creatures, and the different objects in the sky.

—School Library Connection