Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books About Families List (2024)

Straightforward, heartfelt words and thin-lined, fully imagined drawings from Desnitskaya (On the Edge of the World) give tender voice to one child's refugee experience. -- Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

Encouraging empathy and understanding, this illuminating picture book offers a realistic account of finding oneself in a new place and shines a light on the healing power of hope. -- Booklist (STARRED REVIEW)

A beautiful tale of loss and adjustment; for those who have never had to leave home, perhaps a lesson in insight and empathy. Highly recommended. -- School Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW)

Beautifully crafted and warmly empathetic. -- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

A poignant story about a displaced family making a home in the aftermath of war.

We used to live in a big city. In our apartment window was a star-shaped lamp, shining through the cold. I could recognize home from far away. But then the war began, and we left for another country. Everything is different here--the food, the language, even Mom and me. Today Mom bought us a package of scissors, glue, and cardboard. Can we make this place feel a little more like home?

Narrated by a young refugee, A Star Shines Through is based on the experiences of the author-illustrator, who left Russia with her family after the start of the Ukraine War. With an evocative palette of blues and yellows, Anna Desnitskaya shows how making art can create a sense of hope, even amidst emigration and resettling.

Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Choices List - Picture Books (2025)

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List - Grades 3-5 (2024)

A uniquely formatted book about dreams, loneliness, and the universal longing for connection.

Vera and her family live on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, a place that feels like the edge of the world itself. Lucas and his family also say they live on the edge of the world, but their home is thousands of miles away on the coast of Chile. Vera spends her days devouring fantasy books, throwing balls to her dog, and longing for a friend who would care about the treasures she's hidden underneath the alder bush. Lucas spends his days looking for fossils, playing solo games of soccer, and wishing for a friend who would read with him on the best branch of his favorite tree. One evening, both Lucas and Vera head to the beach, blink their flashlights into the dark--and discover that the edge of the world is not such a lonely place after all.

In this playful, perceptive book, acclaimed author-illustrator Anna Desnitskaya shares the mirroring lives of two children in two separate but surprisingly similar settings. As readers flip the book between Vera in Russia and Lucas in Chile, they will learn just how big--and how small--a place the world can be.

The Children's Book Council Teacher FAVORITES List 3rd-5th Grade (2024)

Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Choices List - Picture Books (2024)