Books published by Little Star

In a voice both timeless and distinctly greatest generational, Parke F. Smith writes about being the last US pilot accepted into the ranks of the RAF via their training exchange program at War Eagle Field, Los Angeles. After completing their course, he sailed to England on board the HMS Queen Elizabeth, swore allegiance to the King, and was offered a coveted spot training as a fighter pilot. From 1942 to 1946, Smith flew 129 missions in North Africa, Italy, and over the North Sea, before returning home. Amazingly, blessedly, he made it home, unlike so many of his friends and comrades. It is to them he dedicated his writing. Smith's war stories are only the half of it. Smith is skilled at conveying the human connection and camaraderie that forms in war's trenches and skies. He has a way of revealing enduring universal truths through anecdotes made even more humorous from his perspective as a total outsider. Ultimately, Smith's is a story about finding home-no matter how foreign-and fighting for it with all you've got. Not only did Smith love the Spitfire aircraft, his true gift was how he lived his life: fiercely determined and passionate, a real spitfire.

Life's most beautiful moments are often found in the routine of the day - sweeping a floor, growing a flower in a window, laughing in a kitchen. But what if we're too busy to appreciate the joy they bring? Sometimes, young eyes are better at finding life's hidden, simple treasures and showing us all what is truly most important. In "I Want to Laugh in a Kitchen," young Patrick sees opportunities for fun in every chore, adventure at each turn. But his parents are too rushed to savor those moments with him. When Patrick notices a cardinal looking right at him and his mom and dad, his parents are finally awakened to the beauty and joy of the moment. Readers are then guided to go back through the book and find the cardinal in each illustration. In "I Want to Laugh in a Kitchen," the young teach the old to "stop, look, and listen," and embrace the bits of joy tucked in to the everyday.