Winter Moon Song

May 26, 2014
Brooks (Queen of Hearts) presents a version of the moon rabbit myth, sandwiched within a story about a curious rabbit coming into his own. After the young hero glimpses the image of a rabbit in the moon, he asks his mother how it got there. In Brooks’s retelling, the rabbits’ ancestral Great Mother has come to Earth and found it “a lonely business.” A small rabbit, recognizing her, throws himself into her stewpot as a sacrifice; the Great Mother rescues the rabbit by hurling him to the moon, where he remains (“That’s it?” the rabbit asks his mother). After the rabbits sing their traditional Winter Moon Song, the rabbit leads them in a spontaneous second performance outdoors, suggesting that the purest form of praise occurs out in creation itself, not in cloistered holy places. Ruifernández paints vast white expanses of snow and crisp blue-violet night skies; her moody, soft watercolors may remind some readers of Komako Sakai’s work. Brooks creates lovely, evocative imagery, but impatient readers may struggle with the slow pace, lengthy text, and murky meaning of the rabbit’s discoveries. Ages 4–7.

July 15, 2014
Quiet but joyful, this is an original story based on a traditional theme found in many cultures.The author's note mentions that in some Native American cultures, as well as in China, Korea and Japan, the trope of the rabbit in the moon is well-known. Brooks learned about it from a Lakota elder and then spun her own tale. A young rabbit in a northern clime learns the "Winter Moon Song." On his way home from rehearsal for the annual performance, he stops in the woods and looks up at the image of the "rabbit-in-the-moon" and remembers the story, told by his mother, of love and sacrifice binding together the Great Mother, Creator Rabbit (imagined by Brooks), and one of her earthly creations, a little rabbit. The song continues to honor this story and is meant to "lighten the darkest month of the year with a trail of magic." Yet the new singer is not satisfied with the performance. Instead of the churchlike place with candlelight where the rabbits gather, he starts to sing right under the moon, "with the rabbit pattern clearly visible," beginning a new tradition. The soft watercolors, in subdued gray and deep blue, with some contrasting warm brown and golden shades, set a tranquil tone.A subtle tale, perhaps best read to a thoughtful child in the intimate setting of a winter bedtime. (Picture book. 5-7)

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August 1, 2014

K-Gr 3-Brooks has combined a fictional folktale about the rabbit in the moon with a story about the rabbits' tradition of singing an ages-old special song "to lighten up the darkest month of the year with a trail of magic." A "youngish" rabbit, "not big enough to be noticed in any significant way," has prepared to sing "the thrilling piece of music called 'Winter Moon Song'" with the rabbit choir at the gathering place in the burrow. Having heard the tale of the rabbit in the moon and participated in the hour-long program, the young rabbit is suddenly inspired to lead the singing of the song outside under the winter moon, starting a new tradition. Both the fictional folktale and the story that surrounds it lack ethnicity and purpose. There are no ties to a specific country, people, or religion; no problem to be solved; no truths or values for children or contest between good and evil. In the pourquoi-like tale of the rabbit in the moon, a small rabbit, recognizing the Great Mother, Creator Rabbit shivering in the snow, jumps into her stewpot of boiling water ("I must save her or she will die!"), and the Creator Rabbit flings him to the moon ("Oh no, I must save my creation or he will die!"). Soft watercolor and black-ink scenes-most in white, blues, and smeary grays-create a perfect background for the story. Successful adaptation of a folktale is a difficult task; creating a meaningful original tale, even more challenging. Brooks's attempt just does not satisfy.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

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