"Every night after his mom reads him three stories, Milo, who misses spending time with his absent father, carefully slides out from under the covers (without waking his mom) and tiptoes to the open window to wait for the friendly comet that will take him far above the clouds to help the Keeper of Stars. At the end of a long day, there's lots to clean up in the sky: balloons, stray feathers, and once, even a befuddled paraglider! Together, Milo and the Keeper of Stars wash and polish the stars (which would be easier if they weren't so ticklish!). And sometimes the Keeper of Stars lets Milo play games with the baby stars (who are more than a bit unruly and have a tendency to get tangled up). When everything is tidy, Milo and the Keeper of Stars share a snack of cocoa and herring fish sandwiches and admire the night sky that's brimming with a million bright twinkles. Then the comet pulls Milo all the way back to his bedroom, where he slides into bed, nuzzles under the blanket and, at last, closes his eyes. The Keeper of Stars is a timeless story about the power of love and imagination to transcend distance and maintain hope. It portrays a child finding his own way to cope with separation from a parent. From his nightly ritual of tapping his father's photo three times, to helping the Keeper of Stars, Milo has a whole imaginative, magical world to sustain him in the face of absence. Jennifer Harris's spare text twinkles with warmth, imagination and humor, and the soft bedtime tone makes for a great read-aloud"--Provided by publisher.
