A Tiny Spark and the Poet Who Made It Immortal

Like a Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor’s Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars – written by Elizabeth Brown, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2022

How much do you really know about “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?” How much do the children in your life know about it? A new picture book biography of British poet Jane Taylor (1783-1824) will answer questions which had never occurred to you.  Is this childhood poem a piece of folk art or the work of an individual?  Is it based in astronomy or fantasy? What social and political issues, including feminism, form part of its background?  The amount of information in the book is considerable, but what makes it amazing is the way in which Elizabeth Brown and Becca Stadtlander have integrated each component together in a beautifully woven web.  Like a Diamond in the Sky is a distinguished work of picture…