Tinker and Tom can't get to sleep one night, so they gaze out the window. Suddenly a star streaks through the sky--a baby star that's lost and looking for its mother, says Tom--and lands in their backyard. And from a spaceship that looks more like a trash can pops the Star BAby.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In a starred review, PW said, "McPhail zeroes in on the parallel world of the imagination that makes childhood so magical, delivering delicious nonsense in the same forthright manner with which children detail their own fantasies." Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?A fantastical nighttime romp. Unable to sleep, Tinker, a mop-topped boy, and his bear friend, Tom, are staring listlessly out the window when a spaceship crash-lands in the yard. A star-headed baby pops out and immediately takes a shine to Tom. The friends take the spacecraft into the house for a closer look. The baby's hilarious antics reveal its extraterrestrial powers and give Tinker's dad and cat a night to remember. Meanwhile, the boy concocts rocket fuel out of orange juice, ketchup, honey, and other ingredients. Back in the yard, Tinker urges Tom to put the little pilot back in the cockpit so it can be on its way. The bear hesitates, but Tinker finally convinces him. With a push, the spaceship is off, and a beam of light assures the friends that the infant has found its mother. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations have a more casual appearance than the glowing, rich look of McPhail's Edward and the Pirates (Little, Brown, 1997), but the style fits the story's playful tone. Young children will recognize Tom as a stand-in for their own imaginary companions. Pair this with Martha Alexander's You're a Genius, Blackboard Bear (Candlewick, 1995), another dreamlike tale of a bear, a boy, and a moonlit spaceship.?Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
DAVID McPHAIL is the creator of dozens of wonderful books, including Big Brown Bear's Up and Down Day; Sisters; Mole Music, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year; and several recent Green Light Readers for Harcourt. He lives in New Hampshire.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great picture book that will appeal to would-be inventors,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby (Paperback)
This is a wonderful, whimsical book about a boy named Tinker, and his friend Tom, a very large bear. As they watch the stars one evening, they notice that one is falling to earth, right in their backyard! Tinker explains to Tom that it must be a "star baby" that has fallen and will need help getting back to its mother. The boy and the bear find the star baby, but also discover that the baby's star ship needs to be repaired before the star baby can return to its mother. Tinker and Tom decide to take the star ship and the baby inside, where Tinker proceeds to "fix" the star ship with things that he finds around the kitchen. Tinker almost gets himself into trouble when his dad wakes up, but the star baby takes care of him with its magical powers. Kids will enjoy seeing the things that Tinker uses to "fuel" up the star baby's space ship, and the way the baby takes care of the cat and the father. The illustrations are humorous and fun, and this is a great book that will be read over and over!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review for Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby (Hardcover)
McPhail, David. Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. Zornado, Joseph. "Swaddling the Child in Children's Literature." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 22.3 (1997): 105-112.Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby is a fantasy that takes the reader through an exciting adventure. One night, Tinker and Tom, a boy and a bear, can't get to sleep. They look out the window and see a star baby land in their backyard. Tinker and Tom decide that the Star Baby is lost and needs to find it's mother. Tinker and Tom venture into repairing the spaceship star baby arrived in, so that it can be sent home to it's mother. The fantastic element of the story creates excitement in the book. Many children dream about experiencing this fantastic element. Children only wish excitement, like the spaceship, would land in their backyard. The children grow up as adults never getting to experience these fantasies. Adult authors, such as David McPhail, write children's literature to relive their childhood fantasies. These authors are given the opportunity to explore a fantasy world they never experienced as a child. The fantasy created in Tinker and Tom and Star Baby allows McPhail to relive his childhood fantasies. In the article, "Swaddling the Child in Children's Literature," Joseph Zornado explores the concept that children's literature authors write to relive their childhood fantasies that they never got to experience. He proposes, " that children and adults all share the same pleasure" (105). This pleasure is experiencing a fantastic world. Children are given opportunities to explore this pleasure through pretend play, for example, but adults must forget about this pleasure. Zornado also says that children's literature is about finding what is "dead, buried and forgotten" in adults (105). David McPhail is an adult author who attempts to explore the fantasy world he never got to experience through Tinker and Tom and Star Baby. As Zornado states, McPhail is an author, who like other children's literature authors, chooses to relive his childhood through this story. The fantasy exists in the story in several ways. One way is through Tom, the bear, who lives with Tinker, the little boy. Tom can talk like a human and is Tinker's best friend. During childhood, many people pretend that animals can talk to them, and may even have an animal as their best friend. McPhail chooses to experience this element of fantasy through Tom. Another element of fantasy is found in Star Baby. Star Baby arrives by a spaceship. Star Baby cannot talk, but she does have magical powers. She has the power to make objects float around. In the book, Star Baby begins eating the cat's food. The cat starts to pounce on Star Baby, but Star Baby uses her magic and makes the cat float around the room by pointing at him. During childhood, many children fantasize about space. McPhail relives his childhood here through Star Baby. The last element of fantasy occurs with Tinker's father. The father hears all of the commotion occurring in the kitchen and comes downstairs to see what is happening. His father discovers Star Baby, but only stares and points at "it" in amazement. Star Baby points right back, causing Tinker's father begins to float back up the stairs, and does not bother Tinker and Tom for the rest of the night. This is the same fantastical element (Star Baby's magical powers) that occurred with Star Baby and the cat. Through the fantasy in the book, McPhail is able to revive the child that still lives in him. Children's literature is a means through which it's adult authors live through the world they never got to experience as a child. David McPhail is able to do this through Tinker and Tom and Star Baby because of the fantastic element written in the book.
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