Manuel's gentle first book looks at the closeness between a grandmother and granddaughter and at the beauty of nature on a moonlit winter night. When Grandma says the moon looks lonesome, the little girl blows it a kiss: ``A swirly kiss, a twirly kiss,/a willowy-billowy/wisp of a kiss.'' The child wonders if the moon will return the favor. Indeed it does, filling the air with silvery snowflakes. Although the language occasionally sounds too adult for a child's voice, this is a winsome book. The swirling colored- pencil illustrations in shades of blue, green, and purple capture both the warm relationship of the adult and child and the cool enchantment of snow and moonlight. (Picture book. 3-8)
