• Age: 0 to 2
• Grade: p to 12
• Reading age: 0 to 2

★“A stunning marriage of text and art that will linger with listeners as they slip into sleep...This melodic lullaby is warm and tender perfection.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Parents and children will enjoy winding down and snuggling into this slow, tender journey to bedtime.

The world grows restful, but don’t sleep yet, wait until the grassy meadow is quiet and the forest creatures are hidden away. Until the farm animals are snug in the barn and the toys are tidied in their proper spots. Until the bath warms your toes and the blanket tucks you in tightly. Only when we finish our story and the stars are in the sky is it time to sleep.

Calming, lyrical rhythms, pleasing repetition and dreamy watercolors make When Stars Arise a gentle lullaby that reinforces the bedtime routine.

E.G. Alaraj grew up in the magical place that every child knows, where ideas look like pictures drawn from crayons, paint or ink and sound like stories from long ago and far away. The youngest of six girls in a homeschool family, she spent her childhood with her nose in storybooks, art books, music books, notebooks and trouble—especially trouble. In fact, she thinks trouble and imagination are best friends. E.G. lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

E.G. Alaraj's profile page

Martyna Czub is an illustrator born in Poland. She graduated with a degree in art education and art therapy in Poland and moved to Canada in 2016, where she began her career as an artist. She loves to immerse herself in the world of stories and illustrations and is a big nature enthusiast. It is in nature that she constantly discovers new secrets and stories, which inspire her as she creates colorful and magical watercolor illustrations. Martyna lives in Western Shore, Nova Scotia.

Martyna Czub's profile page

• Short-listed, BC and Yukon Book Prizes - Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
• Commended, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
• Commended, Loan Stars Canadian Juvenile top 10 pick
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens

“Alaraj’s lyrical text and Czub’s ethereal watercolors [create] an enchanting bedtime story for the littlest listeners about to enter their own dreamland…The illustrations don’t just complement the story, but rather enhance the story and add both detail and depth… A great choice for dialogic reading.”

Children's Literature

“A tender little book you can easily welcome into your own little one’s bedtime routine. Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“What a satisfying circularity from this team, providing reassurance for toddlers and preschoolers while offering parents or educators a natural path to explain how bedtime is bigger than one person’s wishes, but actually a rhythm of the universe...A sweet lullaby for story hour that could also kick off a discussion of diurnal and nocturnal rhythms.”

School Library Journal

★“A stunning marriage of text and art that will linger with listeners as they slip into sleep...This melodic lullaby is warm and tender perfection.”

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Sweet and simple rhyming stanzas lace the journey to bed... [and] cozy watercolor illustrations depict the peaceful passage from play to rest.”

Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison