Starfish the Star product reviews

Starfish the star tells the story of a self-centered starfish that believes he is the main attraction and everyone is there just for him and he is just out for attention but then something happens which he has to make a decision that will shape him into what he will truly become. The illustrations in this book done by Daron Parton are very vivid and vibrant and almost look slightly pixilated which gives the picture a sort of textured look. Both my boys aged 8 and 10 found the story interesting and kept them captivated from start to finish. The story which is about 18 pages long has a very good lesson to teach for young children and that is always a very good thing for children to be absorbing.

My Children love sea creatures and animals so this book gains their attention right away. They have read this book now more times than I can count on the fingers on my hands and they show no signs of losing interest at this stage. The whole story is written where each line ends with a rhyme which the kids adore and love reading along adding rhythm as if singing along to it. Without trying to give away any spoils to the story Starfish has to make a decision which means he would have to put himself out of the limelight and do a selfless act and see what the consequences could be.

I recommend this book to anyone that has young children wanting to teach them good values and lessons as this book shows very well both sides of the coin to how people who are self-absorbed act and also how that affects people around them. The kids absolutely love this story and would like to see any follow-up stories that may come from this and also what other stories Elaine Bickell may have.

When the children saw the big bright starfish with his huge goofy smile taking over most of the book cover, they were instantly enchanted. As they leafed through the pages, they were delighted to find that the rest of the illustrations were just as eye-catching with their bold outlines and vibrant colours. They enjoyed pointing to the different sea creatures, naming them as they went. Both children recognised most of them from other picture books they had seen previously; no matter that they cannot yet read the names!

Miss Four's sharp eyes spotted the crack in the glass tank before anyone else. She was horrified; at her age she is old enough to know the consequences of a broken fish tank, and she asked if someone was going to fix it before there was a disaster. She was relieved when the problem was solved before any of the tank creatures were affected. Meanwhile, Mr Two homed in on his favourite creature, the stingray, and was pleased that he told everyone what to do.

The story is told in rhyme so that the children could join in after the first couple of readings, anticipating what was coming next and vying to see who could shout out the missing word first. Preschoolers love books written in this way as they quickly get a grasp of the story and feel they are "reading" along - something that helps foster a love of books as they grow older and more able to read for themselves.

The way that Starfish shows off and tries to be noticed ahead of everyone else is something young children tend to do - they love attention, and thrive on being recognised as talented or special. But just like Starfish, they do not always realise that this self-absorption can make them unpopular - something no child wants to be. As they get older, they gradually learn the give and take of social interaction and come to understand that they are not the centre of the universe. Only children are at a disadvantage here; luckily Miss Four and Mr Two are siblings so they have to negotiate daily with each other.

There is a strong message about helping others and not promoting yourself to the neglect of everybody else. Miss Four really took this on board; she later offered to help with the dishes, and when they were all done, she declared "I'm a star because I helped!" A lesson learned, and what a great way to learn it while she was having fun.