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THE MOON MAN

Name: THE MOON MAN
Author: Isabel Harris
ISBN: 978-1-68010-078-5

by Isabel Harris ; illustrated by Ada Grey ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018

Young author Harris has truly created a delight.

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A scarecrow is set up in a field, and the animals out in the day see it very differently from the animals out at night.

The daytime animals—a cat, a rabbit, and a squirrel—know about scarecrows, so they go over and give the “crow scarer” a sniff, then go about their day, playing together until it’s time for them to go to sleep. After dark, the nighttime animals—an owl, a fox, and a hedgehog—see the scarecrow but decide that he’s actually a man from the moon and that he must be hungry, having traveled all that way. They spend most of the night gathering food, leaving it at his feet and going off to bed. When the daytime animals come back, they think the “crow scarer” has left food for them, and so they decide to give him a thank-you gift in return. The story goes back and forth, each cycle producing surprises for all the animals—and the baffled farmer. This story has the perfect level of whimsy and outrageousness to appeal to a broad range of kids, and the illustrations are delightful: bright and colorful, with a nice level of cartoonishness that’s nevertheless easy to interpret for children who know their animals. There is no moral or lesson here: just a lovely, silly story poised to become a bedtime favorite, penned by a 9-year-old whose vision is at once perfectly childlike and surprisingly sophisticated.

Young author Harris has truly created a delight. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-68010-078-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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edited by Eric Carle

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WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

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MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)