"Author-illustrator Holly Valero transforms the cub's helplessness to active searching and finally to understanding and acceptance, giving the abstract emotion of grief concrete shape, while the woodland animals' resourcefulness and care serve as a shared community response to suffering. The language of the text is mostly simple and unadorned, letting the events of the story speak for themselves. The hand-drawn illustrations, featuring bold black ink outlines and soft, textured color, do a lot of the narrative work, with angles and perspective used to help the reader feel immersed in the cub's world and emotion." Full Review

..."Striking imagery filled with rich colors gives the book a cartoon-like and approachable feel that will draw readers’ eyes as they hear the story read aloud. Clever use of depth and whimsical details make the illustrations stand out while constructing a thoughtful landscape against which the story can take place. The bear cub is the primary character in this story and is depicted as such, but her unnamed and silent woodland companions are ever present in her surroundings, adding to the overall message of the book.

...A touching exploration of grief and loss that is relatable for preschoolers and older readers, as well." (Full Review)

"This tender picture book tackles a heavy topic—the death of a parent—with unusual gentleness, depicting loss as something that is shared rather than carried alone...

Mother Star Bear Moon is perfect for young readers navigating grief, or anyone who has ever wondered whether they are truly alone. Parents should know the book names the mother's death outright, rather than softening it, a strength for families ready to talk about loss directly." Full Review

..."Even as an adult, the bear still feels the sting of her tremendous loss. “Why did you leave me? Where did you go? What did I do wrong?” the bear shouts at the sky one night, having run out of places to look for her mother. This is when the moon intervenes, lifting the bear and her companion into the sky in a swirl of moonbeams to show her what really happened. “Your mother … died in a blizzard. Now, she lives among the stars—where we all return one day.” The bear’s heart-wrenching journey toward understanding and acceptance will resonate with young readers who have also experienced a loss." (Full Review)

..."This thoughtful and nostalgic tale invites readers of all ages into an exploration of love and loss that will resonate across generations. Relatively limited text makes the book accessible to preschool-aged readers, though the larger concepts in the plot are well-suited to older readers, as well. At the beginning of the story, a narrator describes actions using no dialogue, but a resonant turning point welcomes the bear cub’s voice to the mix. This divide transforms a more distant explanation of events to one that is immediately present for readers, which can summon myriad emotions to surface. (Full Review)

"Valero's illustrations center on the cub, whose minimalist design boasts thick but playfully swooping lines, eyes that express a lot despite just being dots, and a charming swirl of a nose. (Paw pads are likewise adorable.) ... Eventually, the cub and her stuffy travel from “the grasslands to the sea,” each landscape filled with vibrant flowers, trees, and water that contrast with the cub’s increasing anxiety. In the end, the young bear learns that even though she has suffered a major loss, she can start to rebuild with the friends who supported her through her grief." (Full Review)