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Stella's been to the sea before, but little Sam is seeing its vast blueness for the very first time. He has so many questions for his older, wiser sister before he goes into the water that Stella wonders if he'll ever come in. Sam just wants to know what he's getting into first before he takes the plunge. But Stella's patient with her little brother, answering all his questions as only someone can who's been on the Earth as long as she. Marie-Louise Gay brings the sea to life with her crystalline watercolours in the charming story, Stella.

Winner of the Ruth Schwartz AwardStella and her little brother are spending the day at the sea. Stella has been to the sea before and knows all its secrets, but Sam has many questions: "Does a catfish purr? Does a seahorse gallop?" Stella has an answer for them all. The only thing she isn''t sure of, and neither are we, is whether Sam will ever come into the water. Exquisite, evocative watercolors bring a diaphanous day at the beach alive in this perfect summer story. Gently humorous, Stella, Star of the Sea also captures the relationship between an older sister and her baby brother - a responsibility that can be both lots of fun and very trying.

Children's author and illustrator Marie-Louise Gay was born in Quebec City, Canada on June 17, 1952. While attending the Institute of Graphic Arts of Montreal, she decided graphic art was too restraining and transferred to the Montreal Museum School of Fine Art. She worked for various Canadian magazines doing editorial illustration and illustrated a children's book. In order to learn more about illustration, she attended the Academy of Art College in San Francisco for three years. She moved to Montreal, Canada and started illustrating children's books. In 1980, she decided to write and illustrate her own picture books. In 1984, she won the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize for illustration in both the English-language category for Lizzy's Lion and the French-language category for Drôle d'école. She won the Canadian Library Association Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon medal for Moonbeam on a Cat's Ear in 1987 and for Rainy Day Magic in 1988. The latter book also earned her the coveted Governor General's Award for illustration.