Skywatcher

by Jamie Hogan

Overview

Tamen longs to see the stars, but none are visible in the light-polluted sky above the fire escape of his urban apartment building. Even in the neighborhood park, the stars are hidden by city lights.

This is a story about love and sacrifice: Tamen’s mom, a nightshift nurse, finds a way to take him camping. For one magical night on the shore of a wilderness pond, the Milky Way in all its glory belongs to them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884488996
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

JAMIE HOGAN has published illustrations in newspapers, periodicals, and numerous award winning children’s books including Rickshaw Girl, which was named one of the Best 100 Books by the New York Public Library and won the Jane Addams Peace Association Award and the Maine Library Association’s Lupine Award; and Island Birthday, which won the 2015 Lupine Award. Jamie lives on an island in Casco Bay with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

"Tamen longs to “travel the galaxy just like Skywatcher,” the hero of a comic he is reading, but when he looks out his city window, or even outside in the park, the stars aren’t visible. Tamen’s mom (seen earlier in medical scrubs) takes him on a surprise camping trip, where he is finally able to see the stars. Hogan’s illustrations are almost all in velvety shades of blue to convey the darkness of the night, except for a pale green Luna moth and the golds and purples surrounding the stars. “This black is SO big, but I feel like I’m part of it,” Tamen tells his mom, and she explains that “the atoms in us were forged in stars long ago.” The accompanying double-page spread shows mother and son sitting close together, their bodies sprinkled with the same stars that dot the sky. On their return to the city, Mom goes back to working the night shift, but Tamen feels reassured knowing that the stars are still there even though he can’t see them. An author’s note tells more about light pollution’s disruptive effects on migrating creatures, on conservation, and on humans’ “ability to see beyond ourselves.” A few facts about nocturnal animals and about how readers can become “skywatchers” are also appended."

Skywatcher - The Horn Book - Susan Dove Lempke

"A celebration of the darkness, the mysteries of night, the importance of keeping places unpolluted by overlighting, and, most of all, that there’s wilderness out there, and there’s also wilderness within us, and we need to be connected to it."

A new work from a Maine-based illustrator Jamie Hogan - The Boston Globe - Nina McLaughlin

"Tamen lives in the city, so he cannot see the stars due to the light pollution, but his mother takes him on a camping trip and shows him the constellations. Told with warmth, this story will inspire children to learn more about the constellations and astronomy."

Skywatcher - Bay Views, Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California (ACL) - Penny Peck

Sneha Mathan’s crisp, smooth narration is the perfect match for the story of a mother who is introducing her son, Tamen, to a dark-sky preserve. The story’s sound effects help to emphasize the duo’s departure from the city, and Mathan provides realistic voices for both characters. She also excels at communicating how much seeing the stars means to Tamen. The audiobook is accompanied by upbeat music that draws listeners into the story and educational author’s note. Listeners hear a succinct explanation of the problem of light pollution, followed by information about skywatching and ways to defend the dark. At the end of the audiobook is a list of dark-sky preserves in Canada and the U.S. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2022 - AudioFile

2021-07-14
A city-dwelling child gets a chance to see the stars.

Tamen lies in bed at night reading his Skywatcher comics. He dreams of traveling the galaxy like the hero in the comics, but he wonders how he can find his way without the stars. He asks his mom where the stars are, and one night he drags her out to the park to find them, but they are obscured by the city lights. One weekend his mom takes him away from the city. Under a moonlit sky, she builds a fire, and they watch as the stars come out and name the constellations they see. In the middle of the night, Tamen is awoken by a sound, and when he emerges from the tent, he gets a better view of the galaxy than he had ever imagined. Hogan’s illustrations use pastels with a blue and yellow palette to create the feeling of glowing lights in the night. While the surface story of a boy interested in stars is unexceptional, what makes this story stand out is the relationship between a boy and his hardworking mother, who works the night shift at the hospital, and a special night they share together outside of their usual busy routine. Tamen sees a new side of his mother; together, they feel at one with the universe, and when they return home, Tamen cherishes the memories. In the illustrations, child and mother both have pale skin and straight hair, his black and hers light. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Touching. (note, resources) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews