The Moon is a Silver Pond

Starred review from August 12, 2019
On a snowy evening, a child’s imagination transforms everyday objects into lunar comparisons. Lightly reminiscent of Ruth Krauss and Remy Charlip’s A Moon or a Button, Cassidy’s gentle phrasing swings between clear metaphors (“The moon is a silver pond./ A pail of milk... A shining hubcap”) and those that require more imagination (“A sleeping snail... a tooth, a pillow”). Bisaillon’s cozy mixed-media illustrations, meanwhile, zoom in on delicate details: the head of a nail with dents like the moon’s craters, the steam rising off a warm apple pie, and a delicate thread winding through a pearlescent button. The slow recitation of moonlike items builds into a lovely bedtime transition, gradually moving from the wintry outdoors into a warm, snuggly bed, bathed in moonlight: “a tunnel through the dark night.” A volume sure to jump-start readers’ imaginations and create moon-y, luminous dreams. Ages up to 2.

January 15, 2020
This richly illustrated board book uses the moon to explore metaphor. Bisaillon's art takes center stage as readers follow along looking for the moon in different objects, beginning with the titular statement. Some are fairly obvious (a pail of milk, a shiny hubcap), while others are more obscure (a tooth, a pillow). These metaphors rely heavily on Bisaillon's artwork to communicate meaning to readers. This works out in the case of "the head of the nail," its shiny, pocked, gray surface clearly a miniature moon. For others, such as the "apple pie," it's harder to find the moon's likeness in the object depicted. Because the concept of a metaphor is a big one for board-book readers, when it's difficult to see an object's resemblance to the moon, the idea may be lost. Bisaillon's illustrations--in cut paper, pastels, watercolors, pencils, and digital collage--are truly stunning. In addition to the show-stopping opening and closing wintry forest scenes, a real standout shows a bird's-eye view of the moon's glow cast through a window across the child's bedroom. Humans are not represented with gender stereotypes (heads and facial features are largely excluded), but all visible skin reads as white. Overall, a largely successful effort to convey metaphors to young readers. Even though they don't all quite work out, the beautiful illustrations mostly make up for it. Read this one for the lovely lunar illustrations. (Board book. 1-3)

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