THE PRINCESS AND THE MOON
by Daisaku Ikeda & translated by Geraldine McCaughrean & illustrated by Brian Wildsmith
An unabashedly didactic story by the Japanese author of The Cherry Tree (p. 466), with a heavy-handed message made remarkably palatable by English adaptor Geraldine McCaughrean's lyrical text and Wildsmith's gorgeous illustrations. When the Moon Rabbit (a grandly ethereal creature with rainbow-dappled fur who travels in a cloud of brightly colored stars) comes for Sophie (``The moon has been watching you...and is not pleased''), she can imagine many faults that might have caused his displeasure: ``Is it because I'm so bad-tempered?'' As answer, she's shown her world as it exists on the moon, where her smiling double is dressed as, and treated like, a princess—the real Sophie, the rabbit explains. Dutifully accepting the lesson, the child returns to earth ready to smile and be kind. The reformation may be too easy, but the point is still valid; and no one should forgo Wildsmith's delectable art with its delicately glowing colors and wonderfully imaginative juxtapositions of harmonious images. (Picture book. 4-8)