The start of the year is a great time to talk with young people about new beginnings—and my picture book The Stuff of Stars focuses on some of the most awe-inspiring beginnings known to us. As the starred review in Kirkus Reviews puts it, “It's a stunning achievement to present to readers the factual events that created the birth of the universe, the planet Earth, and life on Earth with such an expressive, powerful creativity of words paired with illustrations so evocative of the awe and magic of the cosmos. But then the story goes one brilliant step further and gives the birth of a child the same beginning, the same sense of magic, the same miracle. Wow.”

I hope that you and your students will feel that same sense of magic and potential as you kick off your New Year together!