BookDragon Blog

Picking up a Peter H. Reynolds book is always transporting. “What wondrous things books can be,” he writes in a lovely letter-as-introduction in his new edition to his 1977 classic, The North Star. “My favorites are the ones that move me – to laughter, to tears, to deep thought, and to action.” I’d have to put Reynolds’ titles high on my own favorites list, that’s for sure.

In our currently uncertain lives – market fluctuations to make your head spin, unemployment numbers roller-coasting, housing foundations crumbling, not to mention the lack of peace around the world – let Reynolds’ North Star guide you … “Listen carefully and you will hear not my voice, but yours.”

In this timeless tale, a baby boy grows up – from traveling on all fours to walking on his own two feet. Guided by a cat who wants the boy to hurry so he won’t get left behind (“Plenty ahead of you,” comes the feline warning!), the boy walks down a path with signs that point him along the way. He has both easy and difficult journeys, but every time he happens to wander off the path, the cat hurries him back to the right way. Still, he gets lost, until a bird encourages the boy listen to his own voice … even in moments of uncertainty and doubt. With the stars as his guide, the boy finally begins to make his own way …

In our hurry-up, overstimulated, should-have-been-done-yesterday-world taking us nowhere we really want to go, Reynolds gently reminds us to stop, listen, take a few minutes to breathe, explore, and dream … and only then can we embark on our “very own wonderful journey.” Here’s to a bit of reinvention for us all … let’s go!

Readers: All

Published: 1997, 2009 (new edition)