Moonday

July 8, 2013
Rex’s story begins and ends in sleep, and—although it’s never stated explicitly—seems to describe a dream. The narrator, lifted from the backseat of a car and put to bed, awakens to see the moon, glowing and enormous, floating in her backyard. “I’m going to have a look around,” the girl announces. “Okay,” says her mother, showing little surprise. “Zip up your coat.” Rex’s beautifully drafted nighttime paintings, done with courtroomlike objectivity, are just right for the absentminded alienation of dreams. In a striking spread, the girl is shown at many points on the lunar surface, like the Little Prince on his planet. The moon’s presence (and the permanent night it brings) causes trouble for the rest of the town; her teacher can’t stay awake, and a punk band croons lullabies from a garage. Lonely images of a nighttime car trip evoke Edward Hopper paintings as the girl and her family lead the moon back into the sky. It’s a suggestive account of the movements of the dreaming mind, and a gentle departure from Rex’s more madcap work. Ages 3–7. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from July 1, 2013
The moon follows a girl home, takes up residence in her yard and stays put--keeping the sun from rising and the town stuck in a drowsy stupor. Enchanting language and a jaw-dropping premise place readers under a similar somnolent spell. Gentle rhymes, recurring consonance and almost subliminal rhythms make murky, dreamy paintings vivid and the surreal story sleepily spectacular. Who wouldn't close their eyes and rock to these soothing lines, as startlingly brilliant as moonlight? "That was when the tide came in. / It trickled in to our backyard. The tide came in, smooth and thin, / and settled underneath our moon." Their moon, cratered, full and luminous, hovers low just off the back porch; the girl walks its circumference and asks from upside down, "What now?" When teachers nod off and punk bands sing lullabies, the moon's family decides to drive back up the mountain, where they first picked up their round friend, in the hope it will follow. Children familiar with soporific car trips will appreciate these commonplace scenes that frame such a fantastical story. Straightforward illustrations and traditional sepia, aerial renderings of the town make this fantastical lunar story all the more wondrous. This mashup of the ordinary and the far-out, of a little neighborhood and a giant, glowing orb from outer space, thrills. (Picture book. 3-6)

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October 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-Many children looking out a car window have thought that the Moon was following them. This luminous fable starts out by drawing on that familiar experience, but when this girl wakes up the next day, there is no morning-just the Moon, "Lower and larger. And very nearly on the ground. It was in our backyard." The spare poetic text, combined with illustrations in dark and vibrant jewel tones, makes each page turn carry a contemplative weight. In darkness, people stumble and yawn through their days. The child walks home from school through a surreal nighttime landscape where people doze at stoplights and sleepwalk through their hobbies. Eventually, the narrator and her parents drive the Moon out to the top of a hill where the youngster tells it to "Stay." And it does. Its glow seems to leap off the page, eerie and pervasive compared to the warm but limited glow of electric lights. Because the adults' reactions are mundane, the story inhabits that magical territory that exists for young children who haven't yet figured the world out. Anything truly is possible. Children will love this tribute to their imaginings, and adults will appreciate the reminder that until you are taught otherwise, the Moon really can follow you all the way home.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, White Bear Lake, MN

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Preschool-G As a girl and her parents drive home from a nearby hill, they watch the big, beautiful moon, which seems to follow them home. In the morning, they awaken to find the moon, slightly smaller than their house, floating balloon-like in their backyard. Though the girl goes to school, day never dawns. Teachers and townsfolk yawn. After school, the girl and her parents watch as tidal waters, drawn by the moon, seep into their yard. They hatch a plan to return the moon to the sky. Dreamlike, this picture book skates on thin ice with its mixture of fantasy and reality. Some narrative elements, such as the mother's gently amusing final comment, strengthen the story, while others seem a bit contrived. Still, the image of the luminous moon, which feels close enough to touch and small enough for a child to explore, is well worth seeing. A drowsy, rather surreal bedtime story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)