Hello, Moon

April 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 1-A short, sweet, simple book for bedtime. Night is near and day is done-so who comes out when the sun goes down? Readers can explore the forest at night with owls, mice, raccoons, and foxes. For very young readers, this is a jumping-off point to explore nocturnal animals. Rhyming phrases will keep even the youngest listener engaged: "Look above, silver skies. Stir awake, open eyes. Moonlight calls, come outside, scurry pounce flutter glide." The illustrations build to the onset of darkness, normalizing night, where there is play, eating routines, and a full range of things to discover. VERDICT Glowing illustrations support a poetic text for a visit to what goes on while children sleep -Betsy Davison, formerly at Homer Central H.S., NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 1 Want to find out what's special at night? Downing illustrates the magic of nighttime in this soothing, rhythmic book. The beautiful night's journey begins as the sun starts to set, ushering in the moon's reign. As the warm sunset tones give over to cool colors when the sky darkens, the night's marvels unfold, revealing the whimsical critters in the woods. Downing adds rich depth to her full-bleed illustrations, dense with background detail and sumptuous, velvety color, while the onomatopoeic text melds seamlessly into the rest of the lines. Though the text itself is spare (""Moonlight calls, / Come outside. / scurry pounce flutter glide""), the illustrations are packed with narrative, from the variety of plants to the shifting weather to the places where critters curl for shelter, all revealing just how alive the woods can be under a starry sky. And as the sun begins to rise, the nocturnal critters finally rest by closing their eyes. With an easy poetic tempo and artwork teeming with ambiance and tone, this will be an enchanting pick for storytime.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
In this bedtime book Downing invites listeners to revel in the night with soft illustrations depicting four nocturnal animals (a fox, owl, mouse, and raccoon) and a complementary series of soothing quatrains describing their routines. A predominance of long vowels ("Cloudy moon, / rustling leaves. / Branches bow, / cool night breeze") creates a gentle narrative that shows the animals going about their usual nighttime activities of finding food ("Ripe, red fruit, / savory seeds. / Midnight feast, / tender leaves") and shelter ("Hurry home. / Almost there. / Warm and dry, / cozy lair"). Downing paces the reading through spacing on the page, most often with the quatrains split across the full-bleed, double-page spreads. Whenever the last two lines of a quatrain are composed solely of verbs ("scurry, pounce, flutter, glide"), she abandons that structure and scatters the verbs across the page, creating a quasi-labeling of the corresponding art, prompting a mild staccato-like reading that emphasizes the action. Various shades of blue and green appear throughout the watercolors and liquid acrylics as the night shadows create a muted, velvety palette. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 15, 2021
A nighttime woodland wander as simple, elegant, and classic as "Taps." "Hello, moon. / Goodbye, sun. // Night is near. / Day is done." These simple words begin a spare rhyming text of about 110 words, opening the door to a magical nighttime animal world. Realistic illustrations in sunny shades morph into the blues of dusk and night, reemerging as the golden tones of dawn. An owl, a fox, raccoons, and mice "scurry pounce flutter [and] glide" as they explore, hunt, and play in the undergrowth. The mice may often seem to be in danger, but they are ultimately always safe. Most images read as nighttime, but each featured animal--and often its offspring--is spotlighted on the page and easily visible, making this a good group read-aloud. The color of the print also changes from black on light backgrounds to white on dark for legibility. However, subtle details are hidden in the shadowy illustrations, and some serious snuggle time with the book will reveal animal nests or dens, mice sneaking through most scenes, and other woodland creatures here and there. This gentle science lesson can be extended with a discussion about the difference between butterflies as creatures of the day and moths as denizens of the night. Although "wild winds blow, / lightning flash. // Thunder roars! / Raindrops splash," the drama is muted as animals safely scurry home to a "warm and dry, / cozy lair." Whether read as Zen nature walk, bedtime story, or gentle science starter, this story begs to be visited again and again. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
In this bedtime book Downing invites listeners to revel in the night with soft illustrations depicting four nocturnal animals (a fox, owl, mouse, and raccoon) and a complementary series of soothing quatrains describing their routines. A predominance of long vowels ("Cloudy moon, / rustling leaves. / Branches bow, / cool night breeze") creates a gentle narrative that shows the animals going about their usual nighttime activities of finding food ("Ripe, red fruit, / savory seeds. / Midnight feast, / tender leaves") and shelter ("Hurry home. / Almost there. / Warm and dry, / cozy lair"). Downing paces the reading through spacing on the page, most often with the quatrains split across the full-bleed, double-page spreads. Whenever the last two lines of a quatrain are composed solely of verbs ("scurry, pounce, flutter, glide"), she abandons that structure and scatters the verbs across the page, creating a quasi-labeling of the corresponding art, prompting a mild staccato-like reading that emphasizes the action. Various shades of blue and green appear throughout the watercolors and liquid acrylics as the night shadows create a muted, velvety palette.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)