MR. MOON

As Miss Sun heads to bed, Mr. Moon takes over supervisory duties for the world.

The sheep, balls of white fluff under nightcaps, must be counted and the clouds fluffed. “The stars arrive, tap-dancing on a moonbeam. / The cows jump high and try to land safely.” Astronaut-helmeted cows with oxygen tanks float in space over a broadly smiling Earth to illustrate the latter statement. What else does the moon observe from his high post? Fireflies, friendly ghosts searching for a home, crickets singing to ladybugs, a raccoon breakfast, anthropomorphized “dewdrops prepar[ing] to greet the dawn,” a train, alley cats, and a boy who requests his company since he can’t fall asleep. Paraskevas’ artwork fairly glows with the intensity of the colors used, and the pictures are a nice mix of drollery and scenes that emphasize the romantic lure that is nighttime, matching the same balance found in the text: “The old train whistles, rumbling across the countryside toward the bright lights of the big city. / Alley cats drum a bebop beat as they rattle trash cans in the street.”

Better not read this at bedtime: curious children will want to see all that Mr. Moon does.