May the Stars Drip Down - Hardcover

Jeremy Chatelain has toured the world as a musician with a number of different bands, and today he is the driving force behind indie rock band Cub Country. He lives in Salt Lake City with his family. Nikki McClure is the author and illustrator of Collect Raindrops; Mama, Is It Summer Yet?; To Market, To Market; Apple; and How to Be a Cat; and is the illustrator of All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant. She lives in Olympia, Washington. Visit nikkimcclure.com.

Using cut and torn paper and a palette of midnight blue and white double-page spreads, McClure interprets songwriter Chatelain’s lullaby for a sleeping boy. A clever observer can peek through a scattering of cutout holes to see the stars’ light on the first page. As the child dreams, sand from the desert gently washes his little toes by the light of the moon. His nighttime reveries take him over mountains, by a lake’s edge, and then to the coastline of the ocean, where a flock of birds tuck their heads under their wings asleep, and rolling waves lap over his bare feet on the sandy shore. In a final surprise, the night’s colors turn to warm gold, as the tot wakes to the gentle morning light and sunshine and the loving caress of his whispering parent. A clever surprise awaits on the endpapers: all the dreams are inspired by the mobile and items in the boy’s room—a starfish, a boat, a feather, a seashell, a snuggly owl, and a stuffed fox. Soft, lovely, and just right for a dreamy bedtime read-aloud. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Lolly Gepson