MOONBOY

Moonboy comes down at night to fill rooms with a soft glow, play over flowers, chase shadows and always goes back to the Man In The Moon before dawn. Few have seen him because it is notoriously hard for people to see very small things. The author/illustrator's Penny Pencil was a favorite here, but the general audience for this title may not be as wide. This seems the sort of book best suited to that large number of pre-literate children who fear the dark and everything that goes with nighttime. Moonboy represents a light visitor to watch for after bedtime. The text is brief and reassuring. The swiftly sketched ink illustrations are touched with a sunny gold. However, there is very little for the not-quite-ready-to-read to find in the pictures, some of which suffer from (an unusual complaint) an excess of white space. A special book for a special audience.