Faces of the Moon

June 15, 2009
For amateur scientists, here are some enticing picks.
Faces of the Moon
Bob Crelin
, illus. by Leslie Evans. Charlesbridge
, $16.95 (36p) ISBN 978-1-57091-785-1

With gentle interactive elements and rhymed verse, this picture book strikes a reflective tone while providing an effective lesson on the moon and its phases. A boy, a girl and a dog gaze up at the moon and wonder “just why her face is curved, or round,/ or why she sometimes can't be found?” During each of the moon's phases, the children are pictured engaging in various activities while the moon shines above them, peeking through die-cut pages: “Now WAXING GIBBOUS, fat with light,/ she's nearly round—up late at night.” The pages also have side tabs that show the moon in its corresponding phases. Evans's bright, chunky linoleum block print and watercolor illustrations present the moon as a constant presence in the children's lives, sometimes as a pale backdrop for everyday events, at other times a source of wonderment. Ages 6–9.

July 1, 2009
Gr 1-3-Die-cut holesstarting with a big round one on the front covertrack the Moons phases as seen in the northern hemisphere. While Crelin explains whats happening in verse (The Moons first phase, we call it NEW/when Moons between the Sun and you./Her sunlit side is turned away, /and we cant see her, night or day), and then (superfluously) again in prose at the end, Evanss digitally enhanced linoleum-block prints depict two children watching the sky or going about their daily or nightly business in a variety of urban and outdoor settings. Though the text could have used better proofreading (crescent is misspelled twice), the special design elements, heavy paper stock, and rich coloring add up to a sumptuous presentation. Consider this volume as an enhancement for more conventional treatments such as Suzanne Slades "The Phases of the Moon" (Rosen, 2007) or Franklyn Mansfield Branleys classic "The Moon Seems to Change" (HarperCollins, 1960; o.p.)."John Peters, New York Public Library"

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