Thousand Star Hotel
Written by The Okee Dokee Brothers*
Illustrated by Brandon Reese
Sterling Children’s Books   3/07/2017
978-1-4549-1830-1
40 pages    Ages 4—8
Includes an Audio CD of the Story and 12 Songs

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“I’m sleepin’ in a thousand star hotel.
Gold leaf pillow for my head,
Feel like a king on a king-size riverbed.
I’m sleepin’ in a thousand star hotel.

“Inspired by the folktale “The Fisherman and His Wife,” The GRAMMY® Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers have created a fanciful story about the things we wish for . . . and the things we really need. This follow-up to Can You Canoe? And Other Adventure Songs includes a 12-track CD featuring 11 nighttime songs and a fully dramatized audiobook of the story, read by The Okee Dokee Brothers.” [BACK COVER]

Review
[WC 538]
Mr. and Mrs. Muskrat walk to the river for their daily fishing trip. They hope to catch dinner. Well, Mrs. Muskrat is thinking of dinner. Mr. Muskrat is thinking about enough fish—or one fantastic fish—to make the couple rich so they can live a life of luxury. Now luxury is in the eye-of-the-beholder. What you might think is luxurious may be much different from what Mr. or Mrs. Muskrat would consider luxurious. ‘Course, their home is a rundown cabin, with barely a roof, cracked walls, and wood planks pulling away just above the foundation (if there is a foundation).
Anyway, the couple row out to a good fishing spot. Not long later, Mr. Muskrat’s fishing rod bends into a BIG “C.” Something awesome is tugging the line. Mr. Muskrat envisions a huge fish worth enough to make the couple rich. (But if you’ve ever been fishing, you know what it is—a snagged line!)

“After much STRUGGLIN’, TUGGLIN’,
YANKIN’, AND CRANKIN’,
they manage to catch . . .”

Ah, but there was no snag after all. Something fiercely pulls and tugs on the line. What did they catch? Well, a fish, of course! And this fish has some special powers. It offers one wish in exchange for its life. Who can pass up such an offer? Not even Mrs. Muskrat says no. Now the Muskrats must decide between their needs and their wants.

Can you guess what happens next? No, no, no, I cannot not tell you. Read the book!

Children will love this take on The Fisherman and His Wife. Without being didactic, the Okee Dokee Brothers pass on a lesson of wants versus needs. The action is fast-paced with font changes to match the tone of each speaker. Thousand Star Hotel contains a lot of text for a picture book, but as you read aloud, you’ll quickly zip long. The sentences are smooth, easy to read, and use interesting words (lunker, fish feathers, ramshackle, river rats). The Muskrats are as cute as muskrats can be in their hillbilly-like clothes. The Photoshop illustrations are bright and eye-catching. And the final spread has a lovely twist.

There are a couple of interesting additions to the Thousand Star Hotel. The pages have curved corners, making the book look grand and expensive. The first time you open the cover, your left eye will notice something interesting. There is a CD attached. On it there is an audiobook and 11 related songs, all told and sung by the Grammy® Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers. Young children will love the songs. I found my foot tapping and my mouth humming along. The audiobook is well done.
This is the Okee Dokee Brothers second book, both with Sterling Children’s Book. The first, Can You Canoe?, won the 2012 Grammy® for Best Children’s Music Album. An album of Thousand Star Hotel, without the audiobook, is available at iTunes, but don’t skip the story. Your child will be able to listen to it when you’re not available to read. The Thousand Star Hotel is a lovingly created book from the story to the songs, and the cover to the interior of the book. Parents and young children will enjoy Thousand Star Hotel.

THOUSAND STAR HOTEL. Text copyright © 2017 by The Okee Dokee Brothers (Joseph Mailander & Justin Lansing) plus Casey Peterson and Jed Anderson. Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Brandon Reese. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sterling Children’s Books, New York, NY.

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Add THOUSAND STAR HOTEL to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Find 1st Book Here: Can You Canoe? And Other Adventure Songs
WIN A COPY OF THE BOOK (WITH CD)! ENTER HERE (ends at midnight, April 11, 2017)

*The Okee Dokee Brothers: Joseph Mailander & Justin Lansing—plus Casey Peterson and Jed Anderson

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Illustrations from THOUSAND STAR HOTEL by The Okee Dokee Brothers copyright © 2017 by Brandon Reese. Used with permission from Sterling Children’s Books/Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

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Copyright © 2017 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Thousand Star Hotel
Written by The Okee Dokee Brothers*
Illustrated by Brandon Reese
Sterling Children’s Books 3/07/2017
Includes: Audio CD Story and 11 Songs
9781454918301