The Star Gazers

Suddenly, there he is. The boy in a fine shirt and a neat jacket.

In a restless sea of people crowding the train platform, Dora finds Franz perched in a cloud of pink cherry blossoms. The two of them are about to become friends and let an adventure — full of codes, maps and intriguing plans — whisk them away to a place in their imagination where they can be children. Vanna Rosenberg’s The Star Gazers is a tenderly hopeful story about the fate and vulnerability of two children in wartime, complete with stunning illustrations by Cecilia Heikkilä.

There is war in Europe and nothing is as it should be. While their parents go to work in the factory, Franz and Dora play in the cold attic. Their games transport them out onto the deserted streets of the city. A letter, a melody, a cat’s glittering gaze — soon they know what they must do! Together, they will bring hope where there is none. Along the way, they meet the girl Chaya who has lost her teddy bear and old Mimsa in the porter’s lodge — two souls who, like themselves, need all the sympathy they can get.