CITY MOON

A mother and child search for the moon on an evening walk in the city.

In the early fall darkness, mom and little one put on their pajamas, coats, and shoes and head out into the neighborhood to find the moon. Sometimes it hides behind buildings or clouds. Sometimes it is only seen as a reflection in a puddle. The child narrator is filled with curiosity and wonder, working to understand what they are seeing and not seeing. The narrator asks questions, Mama answers simply, and her child inhales the information; they are in perfect harmony. “Oh, stars.” “Oh…a reflection.” The street is filled with sights and sounds, but they are the only moon-hunters. Cole’s syntax is spot-on, clear, descriptive, and filled with lovely images. Gómez’s digitally rendered, double-page spreads capture the city neighborhood in evening tones of brown, navy, and dark green with illumination from street lights, apartment windows, and, of course, the elusive moon. There are charming vignettes of people of diverse skin tones, in their apartments or passing by on foot or on bikes, busy with their own lives. The white, redheaded mother and child move through the pages always touching, intense in their quest and sure of their love. This bedtime story will have little readers begging to explore it again and again.

Wonder-filled and delightful.