ONCE UPON A BLUE MOON

A sad, blue moon finds joy in a debut illustrated book for young children.

For her first foray into kids’ picture books, author-illustrator Constant has crafted a gentle bedtime tale, imagining the moon as feeling left out because children only make their wishes upon twinkling stars. Depicted with a sorrowful face, colored blue, and surrounded by concerned, yellow stars, the moon needs cheering up. Constant asks young readers to “Think of a little wish” and repeat a version of the “I wish I may, wish I might” rhyme by wishing on the moon to make their “dreams warm and bright.” Over the next two pages, a smile grows on the main character’s face as it changes from blue to green to yellow—an unspoken lesson in color mixing—and happily joins the stars in wishing readers sweet dreams. The text has a cozy, sleepy-time feel and the end-of-book activities, urging readers to name the moon, navigate a maze to help a star reach Earth, and more, effectively invite reader participation. A more professional visual approach, however, would have served the story better. The awkward illustrations, done in what appears to be ink and crayon or colored pencil, give the book the look of a rough draft that’s awaiting refinement.

Unpolished illustrations detract from the sweet simplicity of this bedtime story.