A Pocketful of Stars

  • Interest Level: Grade 5 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 5

Safiya and her mother have never seen eye to eye.

Her mother doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming, and shy Safiya doesn’t think she has anything in common with her vibrant, sometimes volatile mother. But when her mother falls into a coma, Safiya’s whole world shifts. She finds herself dreaming about an unfamiliar setting and a rebellious girl who’s distinctly familiar…

As Safiya unlocks the secrets of these dreams the way she would unlock levels in a game, she realizes that opening her heart to the past is the key to changing her future—and that she may not be so different from her mother after all.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-5069-8
$14.99
978-1-7284-9383-1
$24.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 5 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 5
Category Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: B Self-Management, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2023
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language English
Number of Pages 248
Publication Date 2023-09-05
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV013060, JUV015020, JUV039030
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.5 x 8.25
Guided Reading Level Y
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Author: Aisha Bushby

Aisha Bushby was born in Bahrain to Kuwaiti-Canadian parents and has lived in Kuwait, England, and Canada. The first novel she ever worked on was a piece of fan fiction which she stayed up all night to work on when she was thirteen. She now writes magical children’s books from her home in England, where she lives with her husband and two curious cats. She is the author of several children’s books including A Flash of Fireflies and A Pocketful of Stars which was longlisted for the Carnegie medal and shortlisted for the Branford Boase award.

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

A Pocketful of Stars

Safiya and her mother have never seen eye to eye. Her mother doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming, and shy Safiya doesn’t think she has anything in common with her vibrant, sometimes volatile mother. But when her mother falls into a coma,… View available downloads →

Summer Constellations: 2023 Stars So Far

By Megan Ciskowski, Associate Publicist It’s time to look up and celebrate the stars! Keep reading to discover which 2023 titles have earned review recognition for excellence and quality from the first six months of the year. Picture Books The Babka Sisters Grade Level: PreK – 2Age… View →

Awards

  • USBBY Outstanding International Books List, Winner, 2024
  • Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices, Winner, 2024
  • Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year 2024, Winner, 2024

Reviews

School Library Journal

“A nearly perfect older tween, early teen tale, with best friend realignments and romance moving in from the horizon, plus mother-daughter fireworks for the ages.”—School Library Journal

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)

“This is a heartbreaking—and mending—story that will resonate well beyond the last page. Reviewer Rating: 5”—Children’s Literature

Booklist

“The scenes in Kuwait are lovingly rendered, informed by Bushby’s own childhood there and marked by her signature magical touch. Middle-grade readers will relate to Saff’s journey to newfound confidence and the joy of finding friends who love you for who you are.”—Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

“Bushby writes with nuance and skill about a mother-daughter relationship fraught with misunderstanding, and Safiya’s eventual realizations are equal parts uplifting and heartbreaking. A poignantly written novel that is hard to put down and even harder to forget.” —starred, Kirkus Reviews