Module 15: Draw Me a Star

APA Reference of Book: Carle, E. (1992). Draw me a star. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Summary: A young artist draws a simple five-pointed star that he transforms into a beautiful multi-colored star when he is older. The star tells him to draw a sun. Once the warm sun is created, the sun tells him to draw a tree. Next, the tree tells him to draw a woman and a man, who tell him to draw a house. This continues throughout the story, with each new creation telling the artist to create something new right after. As an elderly man, the artist draws a moon, who tells him to draw a star. The book includes a step-by-step guide for readers to draw their own eight-pointed star. Finally, the artist holds onto the star and they travel together across the night sky.

Impressions: This book is a celebration of creation, imagination, and creativity. Eric Carle’s storytelling is simple, yet effective for children. His illustrations are multicolored and varied with a mix of bright and dark colors, which is interesting for the eyes. His paint and tissue paper illustrations look like colorful collages. Some parents might be concerned that the humans are portrayed as naked. The artist included the sexual body parts of both the woman and the man, although not in an explicit way. It reminds me of the creation of man in the Bible, when Adam and Eve were first created and had no need to wear clothes at first, especially because Carle illustrated the humans as standing next to a tree, which is another key aspect of the Biblical creation story. Carle’s depiction of humans is innocent and harmless. This is a comforting story that might inspire children to doodle their own stars as instructed in the book.

Professional Review: “A young boy is told (readers are not sure by whom) to ``Draw me a star.'' The star then requests that the boy draw it a sun; the sun asks for a ``lovely tree,'' and throughout his life the boy/man/artist continues to create images that fill the world with beauty. The moon bids the now-elderly artist to draw another star, and as the story ends, the artist travels `àcross the night sky'' hand-in-hand with the star. This book will appeal to readers of all ages; its stunning illustrations, spare text, and simple story line make it a good choice for story hour; but older children will also find it uplifting and meaningful. Especially pleasing is a diagram within the story, accompanied by rhyming instructions on how to draw a star: ``Down/ over/ left/ and right/ draw/ a star/ oh so/ bright.'' An inspired book in every sense of the word.”

Larkin, E. (1992). Draw me a star (book review) [Review of the book Draw me a star, by E. Carle]. School Library Journal, 38(10), 80. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2308/ehost/detail/detail?sid=9ea7842d-edd2-41ed-b594-fbf00e7b1e29%40sessionmgr4008&vid=4&hid=4112&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#AN=510103000&db=brd

Library Uses: Teach the children to draw eight-pointed stars as shown at the end of the book. When they are comfortable with drawing them, give them pieces of construction paper to draw bigger eight-pointed stars. Encourage them to use different colors besides just yellow. Coat the stars with glitter. Next, punch holes on the top corner of the stars, put a string through the hole of each star, and hang up the stars on the ceiling of the story time area of the library. Alternatively, the children can skip the string and paste the stars on a large bulletin board that is plastered with dark colored paper to represent the night sky.