The Night the Stars Went Missing
by Arthur J. Gonzalez (Goodreads Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars
One night the stars disappear, and Winston asks the moon what is going on. The moon says that the stars are all hiding because they are afraid. Winston climbs into the sky and walks among the clouds to see if he can find the stars. One little star falls into the cloud, and leads Winston to the hiding place where the other stars have congregated. The stars tell Winston that they are distressed by all the pollution on Earth, so he promises that he will help to clean up the Earth. He returns to Earth and rallies all his friends and neighbors to clean up trash and plant trees. The next night, the stars have returned, knowing that Winston and others like him will keep their promise.

The story is a little disjointed, almost like there are pieces missing from the plot. The text doesn’t always make sense, and I wonder if the translation into English might be to blame. It might just be a poor translation. In fact, one time it says that Winston “jeered” at the star while thanking it. To “jeer” at someone is to laugh at them derisively. I don’t think that is what the author intended.

The illustrations are really beautiful and magical! But sometimes the illustrations overwhelm the text. A few of the illustrations don’t illustrate the action of the story very well. Like when the star falls into the clouds, I couldn’t really tell where the star was. The artwork is just a big mass of swirling purple clouds.

Overall, a lovely story, but it could use a good editor.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.