Star light, star bright: the first-star poem and a bedtime ritual

“Star light, star bright” is a wish you say to the first star of the evening. Here are the words:

Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

It’s an old American nursery rhyme, and no one knows who first said it. You look for the first star as the sky gets dark, say the rhyme, and make a wish. There’s a free printable of the poem with a big star to color, for the bedroom window.

Is the first star really a star?

Often, it isn’t. The first light to show up after sunset is often a planet. From Earth, Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky after the Moon, so when it’s in the evening sky, it’s almost always the first light out. NASA notes that Venus gets called “the Evening Star” or “the Morning Star,” depending on whether you see it around sunset or sunrise. It spends months at a time in the evening sky, then months in the morning sky.

When Venus is in the mornings, the first evening light may be another planet or one of the brightest stars. NASA’s monthly “What’s Up” skywatching videos show what’s out each month, if you’d like to know what you’re wishing on.

That’s how Book One, A Light for Tavi, opens: “People call it the first star. But it is not a star at all.” In the books, it’s Lumingrove, the glowing world where Niko and Lira live.

How do you make it a bedtime ritual?

It takes about two minutes, and it works best as the last thing before lights out.

1. Find a window with a good view of the sky. When Venus is the evening star, it’s low in the west, where the sun went down.
2. Look together and let your child spot it first. It’s the first light you can see, brighter than anything around it.
3. Say the rhyme together, slowly. Little ones can join in on “tonight.”
4. Make a wish, out loud or in secret. Some children like to wish something for someone else.
5. Say goodnight to it, and then it’s time for bed.

On cloudy nights, say the rhyme to where the star would be. In summer, the first star can come out after a young child’s bedtime. That’s a good night for the printable on the window instead, or for a story about the first star.

What if my child asks what the first star is?

Say so plainly: it’s often a planet, a whole world far away, shining with light from the sun. Then, if you like, the story version: in the Niko and Lira books, the first star is Lumingrove, and when the Great Lantern is lit there each evening, children on Earth see it shine.

Both answers can be true at bedtime.

More for the first star

• Explore Lumingrove: the map of Lumingrove shows where the first light comes from, with Lantern Square and the Great Lantern in the middle.
• Light the Lanterns: in the game, children light every lantern in Lantern Square until the Great Lantern shines up into the sky as the first star.
• Color and print: the poem card and more pages are free to print.