Melanie names everything she sees and thinks and feels. She calls her big brother Mister and her least favorite dinner No Thanks. Her baby sister’s nose is HONK!
Most of all, Melanie loves coming up with names that make Mister, who is sick, laugh. His hospital gown is a Daytime Slumber Party Dress. His pain is Ouch Ouch Go Away.
But then, one day, Mister dies. Are there any words to describe what it feels like to lose someone you love? Melanie cries tears that she calls Ocean Eyes. She names death Why-why-why-why-why?
As time passes, though, Melanie begins to understand that her brother is still with her: in the breeze and the stars and her dreams. And she feels the stirrings of a new emotion — one whose only name is Peace.
Author
Devon Rohana
Devon Rohana works for the Free Library of Philadelphia, where she runs a citywide early literacy initiative for educators. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. Children are her favorite people, and Mister in the Stars is her picture book debut.
Learn More about Devon RohanaIllustrator
G. Brian Karas
G. Brian Karas is the prolific, versatile, and award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including the beloved Mr. Tiffin’s Class series, A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards, which received three starred reviews, Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, Are You Going to Be Good? by Cari Best, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and Home on the Bayou, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Learn More about G. Brian Karas