- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Fables
How the Stars Came to Be
An original folk tale of dazzling geometric beauty, telling how a fisherman's daughter, grieving the dark nights, was gifted the stars to scatter across the sky.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Lyrical
- Literary
Tone
- Gentle
- Heartwarming
- Inspirational
- Whimsical
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
The Fisherman's Daughter loves to dance in the sunlight and bathe in the glow of the moon. But each month, for a few nights, the moon disappears and the world goes dark, and she frets for her father, out at sea with no light to guide him safely home. One night the Sun finds her crying and, moved by her love, breaks off one of his rays and shatters it upon the ground, creating the stars and giving her the task of placing them, one by one, into the deep night sky. In this original folk tale, Poonam Mistry offers a new way of looking up at the night, wrapped in the intricate, jewel-like patterns and South-Asian-influenced design that make her work so distinctive. Shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, How the Stars Came to Be is a spellbinding, lyrical picture book about love, light and finding your way home.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A lovely bedtime read-aloud for children of about 4 to 8, with the exquisite artwork giving it crossover appeal for older readers and adults. Confident readers of 6 to 9 can savour it alone.
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- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
5 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Beautiful picture books
- Bedtime stories
- Folk tales
- Cultural representation
- Wonder
Avoid if
- Wants fast plot
- Wants laugh out loud
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A rich stimulus for work on origin myths, folk tales and creative writing, with breathtaking artwork to inspire cross-curricular art and design.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The idea that the stars were made from a shattered sunbeam and placed in the sky by a little girl is pure magic, and children feel the tenderness of her worry for her father and the wonder of her starry task.
- Secret world
- Being special or chosen
- Making a difference
Why parents love it
Poonam Mistry's extraordinary, intricate artwork makes this a keepsake, while the gentle, lyrical origin story of the stars reads beautifully at bedtime. A Kate Greenaway-shortlisted picture book to treasure and gift.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Cultural representation
- Bedtime appropriate
- Great writing
About the author & illustrator
Poonam Mistry.
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