A child’s sadness over a dying star inspires a book about empathy

We all do it to some degree — feel empathy for inanimate objects, be it a favorite old T-shirt that has seen better days or a once-loved stuffed animal now relegated to the back of the closet.

For the hero of Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic’s new “Hello, Star” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), it’s a dying star that catches her imagination and heart.

The picture book, illustrated by Vashti Harrison, is one of two new offerings from Menlo Park-based Lucianovic. Also out this month: Lucianovic’s “The League of Picky Eaters,” which is set in a town that takes its cuisine (and the residents’ ability to properly appreciate it) very seriously.

Q

What inspired “Hello, Star”?

A

My oldest son, Henry, who at the time was in first grade — he’s now a seventh grader — was very into space. One night, he came to me and said, “Do you know that stars die? Isn’t that sad?”

I thought about that empathetic thought that he had, that feeling of love or empathy or sadness for an inanimate object. (I) wondered what a child would do with that feeling. That night, I sat down and wrote the first draft of “Hello, Star.”

Q

That was right around the same time you had almost given up writing books, right? But then Henry helped convince you to do otherwise.

A

I didn’t have an agent at the time and was sending out a lot of queries and getting a lot of rejections. I was ready to give up. I had gotten a rejection from an agent that I actually thought was going to be a more positive situation, and I was so devastated that

I said, “That’s it. I’m done.” So, yes, the same son made a heart out of paper and had written on it, “You write really, really, really good books. Please don’t give up.”

I still have that heart. It’s on my wall. I look at it often when I am to the point again of just giving up.

Q

What’s the message of “Hello, Star”? A

I think there are several takeaways. One is the idea that when we are working toward a goal, there is a lot of hard work involved, and there is always going to be at least one time when you are tired and frustrated, but you just keep going. Look at that star. That is your guiding light to your ultimate journey’s end for that particular goal.

(The story) shows us just how far empathy can take us. Ultimately, a little girl is sad about a star. She has empathy for a star. She’s worried that the star is feeling lonely out there on its own as it’s dying, and that makes her upset. And that ends up putting her on the path of a lifelong career to be an astronaut.

Q

Can you tell me about “The League of Picky Eaters”?

A

My agent had been pushing me to write books longer than picture books. So, I had this idea of writing about kid picky eaters … and came up with the idea of what if you lived in a town founded as a foodie utopia? When you attend St. Julia Child Elementary and Middle School, one of your classes — along with science and math and history — is Eating, with a capital “E,” because the teachers and the parents in the community prize the educated palate just as much as they prize your math scores. Then I thought, “What if you are a picky eater in that town who failed her placement exam and was placed in a remedial eating class away from her best friends?”