Outside in World | Browse Books
Use our Book Finder to search for books by Title (or part of the title), Author, ISBN, Age Range, Keyword, or Continent/Country. Then simply click the magnifying glass to start your search.
If a title starts with 'The', leave this out as this is added to the end of the title in brackets. funny pictures funny images funny photos really funny pictures
‘We need the literature of other countries to expand our
horizons and stimulate our ideas. Without it, we are not only
diminished, we are starved’
(The Times, Magnus Linklater 29/06/05)
Please email us to sign up to our Newsletter
Laura's Star
by Klaus Baumgart
Age Range: Under_5
Laura wishes so hard for a special friend to tell all her secrets to. When a little star falls out of the sky one night and hurts itself, Laura knows she has to rescue and help it. The star soon revives and twinkles just for Laura, who knows she has found her special friend. Yet, what will happen when the star has to return to the sky? Will Laura’s special friend still sparkle?
Klaus Baumgart’s story is lovely, identifying everyone’s need for a best-friend and secret keeper. Laura is a very endearing character, and children will identify with her need for a friend and will like Laura for her kindness to the little star. Even more fantastic are the special stars in shiny silver on every page. In a book full of colourful, detailed and happy illustrations, they stand out as a focal point on the page, especially in the pictures where the star is at its brightest and is surrounded by sparkles. Especially sweet is the dedication to “your own special star” at the front of the book.
Klaus Baumgart’s illustrations provide a very warm, friendly world that children will enjoy, and the attention to detail is so good in each picture, with little things like all the photographs in Laura’s room being filled in to make it all look so real. The text through Judy Waite’s translation is simple and really holds the attention, as readers will become very involved with how to help the star that shines so brightly on every page. The translation is very fluid, creating an interesting story that has a lovely innocence to it. You can’t help falling in love with Laura, either, as the happy, kind little girl will reach out across the translation to children everywhere.
Abby Phillips (2010)