Stella’s Starliner by Rosemary Wells (review)

Stella the fox loves life in her snug trailer home, which is “as silver as a comet in the sky,” but when a mean group of weasels sneer at Stella’s trailer, she’s crushed. Her loving mother intervenes by spinning her a Starliner fantasy that restores Stella’s love for her home. Many kids will share Stella’s love for a compact and mobile dwelling, and the book vividly depicts the joys of her cozy life; the thread of class prejudice (“You must be poor!” sneers a weasel) is an unusual one in picture books. The story goes off in a strange direction with Stella’s mother’s fantasy narrative, though, especially when it confusingly ends up in an idealized real world and concludes with a weak and unsatisfying ending. The art has that famous Wells combination of adorableness and artistry; the starry motif, which has a Van Gogh flavor at times, is echoed in delicate pointillism in the landscape detailing. Gleaming silver framing or borders accent most of the spreads, adding to the magic of Stella’s silver home and enhancing appeal for viewers. Kids with unusual-home obsessions may overlook the story’s flaws to appreciate Stella’s living quarters, and adults could use the title, perhaps in partnership with Boelts’ Those Shoes (BCCB 12/07), to discuss the way people treat economic difference.