Meteor! Book

Prolific children's artist and author Patricia Polacco, whose fifty-fifth picture-book is due for release this coming April, made her debut with Meteor!, which, like so many of her subsequent books, is based upon a tale from her own childhood. The story of a meteorite that lands near her Gramma and Grampa Gaw's Michigan farmhouse, creating a hubbub the likes of which Union City has never seen, it chronicles the growing excitement - the rumors flying, the impromptu carnival breaking out at the Gaw farm, with bands playing, a circus performing, and friends meeting for the first time in months - and sense of magic created by this celestial object falling to earth.

I was really quite charmed by this first picture-book from Polacco, particularly as I could pick out any number of themes - the use of a true story from her family's history, the chaotic feeling of fun and community - that would go on to become hallmarks of her work. The artwork has that trademark sense of vitality and motion - I'm always impressed by how well the illustrations work in Polacco's books, even though I don't find them, judged separately from the story, that appealing - and the coterie of animals companions, which I have come to expect, makes an appearance (their first one) here. All in all, an engaging picture-book, one I would recommend particularly to young sky-watchers, and to fans of the author/artist.