Review of the Day: Starstuff: Ten science fiction stories to celebrate new possibilities. Edited by William Alexander & Wade Roush

Starstuff is a collection of ten science fiction stories written for children. I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorite was “Calm Down, People! It’s Just Space Bees” by Carlos Hernandez. This was a story about outer space, bees, and chronic illness and autoimmune disease. It is worth highlighting that the main character has a chronic illness but he is also the hero of the story. It is good to see that people with chronic illnesses can also be the hero of the story.

The story begins with this fun line:

My favorite counselor at space camp (Camp Sedna summer 2089 represent!) would always say, “What bee got up your butt?” (p. 26).

I appreciated this insight:

The natural next thing to ask in this conversation would have been “Why not?” But I’m getting better at reading between the lines. See, I’ve been practicing. Like, did you know that a lot of the time the sentences people say also have a secret meaning? Sometimes the secret meaning is just the truth being covered up with a lie. Those are the easy ones. But sometimes people just hope you’ll get the secret meaning, because it’s hard to say out loud, or hard to put into words. Ever since I figured that out, I’ve been hunting out the secret codes inside people’s words, like searching for Easter eggs in a video game (p. 28).

The story ends with a reminder that peple with chronic illness can pursue their dreams.

Even though my contribution comes with some personal risk. It’s highly unlikely, but it’s possible I could be stung by a bee up here. It’s possible that the tingling in my fingers and toes will grow worse, that someday I’ll have to deal with full-blown MS. A lot of things are possible. But you know what’s actually happening, right here, right now? I am orbiting Earth in a space station. This is my dream come true. I am literally in heaven (p. 53).

I recommend Starstuff.

kindle and LibroFM audiobook. 276 pgs. 8 March 2026