Oscar's Starry Night [Hardcover]

Joan Stimson (Author), Meg Rutherford (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Most children get enthusiastic at the thought of camping out in the backyard, but when they actually pitch the tent behind their house, fear of the darkness comes over them. Such is the tale of Oscar, the bear cub, and Ollie, his friend.

In Oscars Starry Night, by Joan Stimson with illustrations by Meg Rutherford, youngsters are reunited with their favorite bear cub for an outdoor sleep-over that gets a little scary when the sky turns black.

Every page of this hardcover book is filled with beautiful illustrations that tell the delightful story of Oscar and Ollies sleep-over. Together the two cubs overcome their fear of the dark and spend the night counting the stars in the sky.

Children ages three to six will relate to Oscars fear of the dark and thoroughly enjoy the charming tale of two friends who help each other. Oscars Starry Night follows the popular hardcover book, Oscar Needs a Friend, also an adorable story about the adventures of Oscar and Ollie.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Oscar is a bear who spends the night outdoors with his friend. He has mixed feelings as night falls. Oscar is depicted as an extremely soft bear with luminous eyes. Gently humorous. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Silver Honor Winner. (Kemie Nix, Parents' Choice®). -- From Parents' Choice®

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; First Edition edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764152076
• ISBN-13: 978-0764152078
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,266,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars All children must conquer their fear of the dark, June 25, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Oscar's Starry Night (Hardcover)

The first camp out is a major event in the lives of children. When I was young, my brother and I would stay at my grandmother's and I had two uncles who were my age. We would use old blankets to make tents over the clothesline and the four of us often vowed that we would sleep out there that night. However, we never had the courage to do so until one night the neighbor boy wanted to stay with us. This gave all of us the courage to sleep out in the tent.
To young people, the night can be frightening; there are noises and sensations that seem to arise everywhere. This book is about two young bears sleeping outside for the first time. Oscar has been invited over to his friend Ollie's place and they are sleeping out under the stars. At first, Oscar is a bit scared, but once Ollie admits that he too would be frightened if Oscar wasn't there, Oscar gets over his fear. This allows both of them to enjoy the moonlit night.
Getting over fear of the dark and the unknown is something that all children must do. It takes time and the right circumstances and in most cases it takes a companion, a friend, sibling or other relative of the same age. The lesson here for children is that fear of the dark is natural and in some ways healthy. Learning to conquer it is also natural as overcoming that fear is often the first step towards conquering all others and a successful life.