Review: Where To Hide A Star


Oliver Jeffers' exciting and thought-provoking picture book stories orbiting around the Boy, have a new out-of-this-world addition, Where To Hide A Star. Among the boy’s many loves is his predilection for playing hide and seek with his two besties, penguin and the star.

Neither of them is much good at counting or hiding imaginatively but that hardly matters when the real gain behind the game is spending time with your friends. Until one day, through an unplanned misadventure, the boy loses track of the star. Try as he might, he genuinely is unable to find the star so decides to call in the big guns, aka the Martian, who unquestionably knows more about stars than him.

Thanks to a neat bit of Martian tech and a good deal of happenstance, they trek star’s whereabouts all the way to the North Pole, where it turns out, it is very much not lost. Star had found a new friend; a girl who has always dreamed of having a star as a playmate. An inevitable Mexican standoff ensues. How does one share something one wants and loves so personally with another? Fortunately, our trusty Martian illuminates them both with a brilliant solution.

Where To Hide a Star, reveals a universe of delights suffusing whimsy with wonder, space and time, imagination with reality, and desire with realisation. With friendship as the anchoring force, this tale explores the frontiers of loyalty and integrity in the most supernova-filled way. Almost slapstick in delivery, the boy’s story balances the space between strong emotion and limitless fun. It is definitely not difficult to find the joy within this beautiful adventure.

Title:  Where To Hide A Star
Author /Illustrator:  Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  HarperCollins Children’s Books, $27.99
Publication Date:  16 October 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780008579685
For ages:  3+
Type:  Picture Book

Buy the Book:   HarperCollins Australia, Boomerang Books

 

 

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