Erin Dealey

I am so very honored to celebrate the Book Birthday of A STAR SHINES THROUGH by Anna Desnitskaya (Eerdmans) and spread the word about this beautiful, heartfelt picture book.

THIS picture book IS A MUST-READ, MUST-SHARE, friends.

With three starred reviews:

“Encouraging empathy and understanding, this illuminating picture book offers a realistic account of finding oneself in a new place and shines a light on the healing power of hope.”

— Booklist (STARRED REVIEW)

“A beautiful tale of loss and adjustment; for those who have never had to leave home, perhaps a lesson in insight and empathy. Highly recommended.”

— School Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW)

“Beautifully crafted and warmly empathetic.” 

— Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

Meet author/illustrator, Anna Desnitskaya.

Anna Desnitskaya was Russia’s nominee for the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest award for children’s literature. Amid the turmoil in Russia in 2022, Anna and her family made the decision to leave their longtime home of Moscow. After spending several months in Israel, they have currently settled in Montenegro.

We have questions:

 Which came first?

Q 1. I absolutely LOVE that this book is about the powers of ART. I feel like it must have been equal parts heartbreaking and healing to create. Which came first—the illustrations, the title, the idea, or the text?

AD: The idea came first! When we unexpectedly found ourselves in Israel after the war began, we were completely shocked. Everything around us was foreign and confusing, even Sunday being a working day! But when we bought a star from IKEA, just like the one we had at home, we felt the country, the city, and the apartment become a little less foreign. That’s when I realized I wanted to make a book about this.

Illustration Questions

Q 2. What is your preferred medium? What did you use for this book?

AD: In book illustration, I combine hand drawing with digital. First, I draw the outlines on paper, then I finalize and color them on a tablet.

Q 3. In the before illustrations, there is a family of three, and in the after, it is only the girl and her mom. Can you tell us more about this choice?

AD: I did this intentionally. In the immigrant community I mainly interact with, this is a very common situation: part of the family leaves, and part stays behind. Some can’t leave because of work or elderly relatives, some genuinely believe the propaganda (which tears families apart).

In the case of Ukrainian families, men are simply not allowed to leave the country. For me, this is the biggest pain of emigration—constant separations.

Lessons of Loss

Q 4. If I may ask, now that it has been two years since you left, what lessons or insight might you share?

AD: I realized that moving, especially sudden and unplanned, is always a loss. And any loss needs to be grieved. It takes at least one year—and that’s normal. But I also learned that it gets easier with time. You get to know and start to love the new place and new people. It just takes time.

Take Aways

Q 5. What do you hope readers will take away from A STAR SHINES THROUGH?

AD: I hope readers see that it’s normal not to feel love for a new place at first, it’s normal to feel like an outsider. You may fall in love with a new country at first sight—or you may not. But we have the power to make even the most foreign place a little more our own.

What’s Next?

Q 6. What projects are next for you? Anything you can share?

AD: Right now, I am working on a book about bread—it’s a spin-off of the book about world markets that I did with Maria Bahareva. It’s a pleasant and joyful project!

To learn more about Anna’s work, check out Anna Desnitskaya on Instagram

or find her at eerdmans.com

and recently featured in

Publisher’s Weekly: Anna Desnitskaya on Leaving and Finding Home

Endless thanks to Anna for joining the blog today.

Up next: Roxanne Troup‘s new picture book:

REACHING FOR THE STARS–A Mission to Space.