YOUR MOON, MY MOON

Missing a grandchild in a distant tropical country, a grandmother remembers their times together and reflects that they share the same moon.

While New Englander MacLachlan has dedicated her collection of memories to a granddaughter in Tanzania, Collier’s textured watercolor-and-collage illustrations tell a different story. In his version, a brown-haired grandmother is packing a bag and a present and taking an airplane to visit her grandson while recalling earlier visits and imagining what he might be doing. These images extend across the gutter; the gentle text is set on a complementarily colored panel and addresses the grandchild directly. Pictures contrast grandmother’s winter of snow and ice with lush African scenes of the child’s world; loving dogs dwell in both places. The moon is featureless, neatly avoiding the issue of its upside-down appearance on opposite sides of the equator. On the culminating “Your moon is my moon too” page, text and picture join. Both author’s and illustrator’s stories are personal and particular; the combination may broaden the appeal. But they may also confuse readers who will wonder about the apartment-dwelling grandmother’s proximity to the mountains. 

Both doting grandparents and their faraway grandchildren can appreciate the message of this unabashedly sentimental tribute, an obvious gift book. (Picture book. 3-7)