Smooth prose and amusing illustrations explain a monthly astronomical occurrence.
A “children’s moon” occurs when the moon is seen for several hours after sunrise.
Since children were traditionally sent to bed early, before the moon had a chance to rise, the moon in this picture book feels that she never has a chance to see children. She begs the sun, a rather haughty fellow, to let her experience seeing the young people of the Earth. The sun keeps refusing her requests until the moon gives the sun the experience of viewing his fellow stars in the universe, “and if he felt less grand…he also felt a little less lonely” afterward. The moon asks once again, singing out, “will you please-please-please-with-a-comet-on-top let me see the children?” Only then does the brilliant yellow orb arrange for the moon to have this experience. Told in the manner of a folktale, the story is followed by instructions on how to see the so-called children’s moon after the waning gibbous phase and a page of miscellaneous facts about the moon. The softly warm paintings feature the two heavenly orbs with many different expressions on their very human faces. They shine down on different places all around the Earth, and one final double-page spread shows a multiracial cast of kids gazing up. This can be used effectively as a bedtime story at home or as a playful adjunct to lessons about the sun and the moon and their places in the solar system.
Smooth prose and amusing illustrations explain a monthly astronomical occurrence. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-21639-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A quiet, warm look at the bond between grandfather and grandson.
After a visit, an African-American grandfather and grandson say farewell under a big yellow moon. Granpa tells Max it is the same moon he will see when he gets home.
This gently told story uses Max’s fascination with the moon’s ability to “tag along” where his family’s car goes as a metaphor for his grandfather’s constant love. Separating the two relatives is “a swervy-curvy road” that travels up and down hills, over a bridge, “past a field of sleeping cows,” around a small town and through a tunnel. No matter where Max travels, the moon is always there, waiting around a curve or peeking through the trees. But then “[d]ark clouds tumbled across the night sky.” No stars, no nightingales and no moon are to be found. Max frets: “Granpa said it would always shine for me.” Disappointed, Max climbs into bed, missing both the moon and his granpa. In a dramatic double-page spread, readers see Max’s excitement as “[s]lowly, very slowly, Max’s bedroom began to fill with a soft yellow glow.” Cooper uses his signature style to illustrate both the landscape—sometimes viewed from the car windows or reflected in the vehicle’s mirror—and the expressive faces of his characters. Coupled with the story’s lyrical text, this is a lovely mood piece.
A quiet, warm look at the bond between grandfather and grandson. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-23342-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
A young naturalist’s delight.
A child longs to be a tree.
Eve, a young Black girl, lives on the edge of a forest in an unnamed African country where she can see baobab trees in the distance. She tells her parents she’d like to be a baobab tree, and when they reply that being a tree means being patient and taking care of animals and people, she insists that she’s up for the job—indeed she dubs herself Eco Girl as she sets out seed for the birds, looking after them the way the baobab does. To celebrate Eve’s birthday the next day, the family leaves to visit Grandma, who lives in the forest. On the big day, Eve welcomes a rainstorm, arms outstretched like a tree. When the rain stops, she and her family walk further into the forest while her Grandma leads, carrying a wrapped baobab seedling for Eve to plant in a very special place. This is a charming story that captures children’s curiosity about the natural world and their eagerness to be old enough to do the things they want to do. Illustrations drawn in thick black lines with beautiful washes of greens and punches of yellow, blue, and brown make for a warm and affectionate depiction of nature; readers will close this book eager to follow Eve’s worthy example. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A young naturalist’s delight. (information on baobab and other trees) (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2809-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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