The Secret Stars

by Joseph Slate and Felipe Dávalos

On the night of the Three Kings, Pepe and Sila are tucked under a warm star quilt,... read more

On the night of the Three Kings, Pepe and Sila are tucked under a warm star quilt, one on either side of their grandmother. There are no stars outside tonight because of the rain and then the ice. The children worry. How will the Kings be able to ride through such weather? Can they find the family's Baby Manger, hay box and figs? Will they bring toys, maybe just a little piñata, or leave something tucked in their shoes? Grandma's soothing voice transforms her into a large bird with the star quilt for wings. She guides the children to see stars everywhere. Together they look at the frost covered garden flowers, a spider's nest, a fish and frog under the ranch pond, the rooster Reyo and the hens in the chicken coop, a deer at the barn, and the mule Placído. The strong images and deep colors in Davalos's illustrations were created using acrylics to portray the loving Latino family of Slate's story set somewhere in New Mexico. (Ages 4-8)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1998

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