UWM Planetarium to host 'Storytime in the Caribbean' on Dec. 6

This month, UW-Milwaukee's Manfred Olson Planetarium won’t be just a place for star gazing, but for reading, too.

In partnership with UWM’s Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, the planetarium is hosting “Storytime in the Caribbean” on Dec. 6 — a family-friendly read-along of two award-winning children’s books with astronomical themes.

“To me, it sounded like such a fun thing to go to the library and look at cool, award-winning children's books that have great imagery — and then the trick was to find books that had a connection to the sky," says Manfred Olson Planetarium Director Jean Creighton.

The first book, Little Night,  playfully personifies the sky through the story of a mother and child at bedtime, while If Dominican Were A Color  celebrates the Dominican Republic’s culture and natural beauty.

1 of 2  — Little Night book cover.jpg

Cover art for Little Night or Nochecita by Yuyi Morales.

Macmillan Publishers

2 of 2  — If Dominican Were a Color.jpg

Cover art for If Dominican Were A Color, written by Sili Recio and illustrated by Brianna McCarthy.

Simon & Schuster

“This partnership with the planetarium is so exciting because we get to emphasize that there are so many cultures in this world and that we all share the same sky,” says Monica VanBladel, associate director of UWM’s Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies.

The event is free, with registration available at the door. You can find more information here.