Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of Dust

K-Gr. 3. Lowly dust gets a poetic treatment in a picture book that tells all about dust's what and where, and sometimes its why. Using free verse, Sayre explains how dust is made everywhere: A flower drops pollen. / A dog shakes dirt from its fur. / A butterfly flutters, / and scales fall off its wings. Much of the rest of the text catalogues a litany of dust sources: a crumbling leaf, the smoke from burning toast, ash from a volcano. Perhaps most interesting to children will be the news that dust under the bed may be a part of a comet or a bit of the moon. The watercolours in the well-composed two-page spreads sometimes soar (a wave's spray casting dust), but there are also smaller images, such as dust from a farmer's plough, that are equally effective. Adults will need to help kids with the two-page note about dust and sunsets (dust causes the colours), which will be fascinating news to many. Teachers and parents will find uses for this. Ilene Cooper
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