I TOOK THE MOON FOR A WALK

This lyrical story follows an unnamed little boy as he befriends the full moon and walks with it on a summer night. The rhyming text is told in first person, with the repetitive, soothing refrain of the words from the title effectively echoing throughout. The huge, man-in-the-moon character comes down to earth to interact with the boy, and the child later grabs the moon's hand to fly along in one spread. The illustrations employ some sophisticated perspectives, such as one page showing the moon and its reflection in a river, followed by an illustration of the boy and his reflection sandwiched between the moon and its reflection in a closer perspective. Jay's surrealistic oil paintings in muted jewel tones on ivory backgrounds are created by using a crackling varnish, which lends her illustrations an air of antique art. Two pages of additional material about the moon and the world at night are included. (Picture book. 3-7)