About this item

A girl's friendship with a lonely black hole leads her to face her own sadness in this original, funny, and touching middle grade novel for fans of Crenshaw and Flora & Ulysses. When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging to say the least - but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn't want around. Soon the ugly sweaters her aunt has made for her all disappear within the black hole, as does the smelly class hamster she's taking care of, and most important, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around. It's not until Stella, her younger brother, Cosmo, the family puppy, and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she has been letting her own grief consume her. And that's not the only thing she realizes as she attempts to get back home. This is an astonishingly original and funny adventure with a great big heart.



About the Author

Michelle Cuevas

Michelle Cuevas is an award-winning author of children's literature. She graduated from Williams College and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Virginia, where she received the Henry Hoyns Fellowship. Cuevas is the author of seven books for young people, including the Massachusetts Book Award-winning novel, , national best seller  illustrated by Caldecott medalist Erin E. Stead, and international best seller . Her books have been named best of the year by Time, People, The Boston Globe, and School Library Journal, and have been translated into over twenty languages as well as various theatrical productions. Her other titles include:  illustrated by Julie Morstad,  illustrated by Sydney Smith,  illustrated by Ed Young, and illustrated by Cátia Chien. Her 2017 title The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole is in production with Matt Reeves through his 6th and Idaho banner, and her 2015 title Confessions of an Imaginary Friend is being developed into an animated feature film by Fox. Cuevas has freelanced as a creative consultant for Fox Animation, and is the writer of "Follow Your Heart," which qualified for the animated shorts category of the 2018 Academy Awards, as well as the STEM short Happy Birthday, Ada, commissioned by Google, which won 1st place at the 47th ASIFA-East Animation Awards. Michelle lives and works in the Berkshires in Massachusetts with her husband and two Bernese Mountain Dogs, Fable and Indy.



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