British physicist Jacqueline Mitton and illustrator Christina Balit team up in this third picture-book about the heavens, following upon their Zoo In the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations and Kingdom of the Sun: A Book of the Planets. Here they profile thirteen lesser-known constellations (fifteen, if one considers the three constituent elements of Argo), pairing a brief synopsis of the Greek mythological story behind each constellation name, with gorgeous illustrations of the mythological figures in question. An afterword gives more information about the various constellations, while the decorative endpapers show the northern and southern skies...

Much like Zoo in the Sky, I found Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations to be an engaging book, one which explores a fascinating topic, and which contains absolutely beautiful illustrations. I have long been an admirer of Balit's work, and am glad to have finally tracked down this follow-up to Zoo in the Sky, which I read when it first came out in the 1990s, and then recently reread. I do wish that more details had been given, when it comes to the mythological stories being presented, but I appreciated the blending of scientific and mythological education here. This probably would have been a three-star title for me, but Balit's beautiful artwork, with its vibrant colors, appealingly stylized figures, and use of foil stars, was so enjoyable that I raised my rating. Recommended to young sky watchers and star lovers. ( )

52 months - O was excited to read some books about the stars and constellations after exploring nebulas with Dad on the iPad and looking at the stars while camping. She enjoyed the illustrations and we spent a bit of time looking at the end leaf pages with images of the north and south skies. The text gives a hint of the stories behind each of the characters depicted but could have used an introduction to how they were named or why. ( )

The glittering stars are attractive and the paintings have a folksy beauty, but the book as a whole feels a little thin and rushed to me. Nevertheless, for a young library patron exploring the stars, this wouldn't be a bad place to start. ( )

okay