THE MOUSE AND THE MOON

A lonely “little mouse” whose only friend is the moon finds a kindred spirit.

This gentle tale has a simple narrative arc. Tired of their one-sided conversations, the mouse goes in search of a place to get closer to his friend, the moon. Lost and alone in the “wild wood,” he hears a voice coming from the moon’s reflection in a pond. Under the water, a “tiny fish” also talks to the moon. Mouse and fish chat through the night, each thinking the other is the moon. When the sun rises, they see each other and realize they’ve each found a new friend. The text is straightforward and simple, with a great deal of repetition. It’s set amid pictures that tell the story more effectively than the words do. Created with pen, ink, and watercolor and enhanced digitally, most images are black and white. Occasional gray lines add perspective. The characters are washed in pale shades of orange to brown, matching the endpapers. Color (the same pale orange and brown and some green) appears when they finally meet, in daylight. Alborozo's loose pen line neatly conveys the animals’ emotions, the gnarled trees of the forest, and the vegetation around the fish's pond, but the rippled reflections in the "small, still pool" aren't very convincing.

A quiet friendship story reminiscent of Kevin Henkes’ Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004) but not quite so satisfying.