  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 02/15/2014 *Starred Review* Stella, a little fox, lives with her parents in the Starliner, a trailer that’s neat and cozy on the inside and shiny silver on the outside. She and her mama spend a contented day together, visiting the farmers’ market and the bookmobile. But when some mean weasels pass by after school, they stop to taunt Stella, calling her poor and her home a “tin can.” Stung by their cruel words, Stella cannot eat or sleep. That night, she confides in her mother, who points out that the trailer is moving. The next morning, they arrive in a tropical setting, where two new bunny friends admire Stella’s silver home. While the journey section has an ambiguous, dreamlike quality, as though representing the wish to flee whenever words or deeds cause pain, there’s much to admire in both the art and the story. The text is simply written but precise. When the weasels tease the little fox, “their words sting Stella’s heart like the stings of bees”—a memorable image. Created using watercolor, gouache, pastel, ink, and colored pencil, the lovely illustrations convey a sense of order, safety, and wonder in Stella’s world. This evocative picture book makes an absorbing read-aloud choice for young children.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Something new from the creator of Max and Ruby, and countless other beloved stories, is sure to be in demand. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. School Library Journal - 03/01/2014 PreS-Gr 2—Stella, a red fox, is proud of her family's trailer home. It has cozy corners, fun hiding places, and a color that resembles the stars. When some older weasels call it a tin can, she hides her sadness at their hurtful comments from her mom so she won't "feel the stings, too." The problem is resolved, though, as the trailer home takes flight to a new location, where Stella meets new friends, in what appears to be a vivid fantasy sequence. The small camper that looked cheap to the weasels makes her new playmates envious. With bunnies Grace and Stumpy sharing a meal with her in the trailer, Stella feels like a "squillionaire" once again. Wells's illustrations (rendered in watercolor, gouache, pastel, ink, and colored pencil) appear against a summer country landscape alive with swirling stars and sun-dappled trees. While reading this book, children will realize that it's not the size of one's house that makes a happy home; it's the love inside it.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2014 Stella the fox loves life in her snug trailer home, which is “as silver as a comet in the sky,” but when a mean group of weasels sneer at Stella’s trailer, she’s crushed. Her loving mother intervenes by spinning her a Starliner fantasy that restores Stella’s love for her home. Many kids will share Stella’s love for a compact and mobile dwelling, and the book vividly depicts the joys of her cozy life; the thread of class prejudice (“You must be poor!” sneers a weasel) is an unusual one in picture books. The story goes off in a strange direction with Stella’s mother’s fantasy narrative, though, especially when it confusingly ends up in an idealized real world and concludes with a weak and unsatisfying ending. The art has that famous Wells combination of adorableness and artistry; the starry motif, which has a Van Gogh flavor at times, is echoed in delicate pointillism in the landscape detailing. Gleaming silver framing or borders accent most of the spreads, adding to the magic of Stella’s silver home and enhancing appeal for viewers. Kids with unusual-home obsessions may overlook the story’s flaws to appreciate Stella’s living quarters, and adults could use the title, perhaps in partnership with Boelts’ Those Shoes (BCCB 12/07), to discuss the way people treat economic difference. DS - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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