BRINGING DOWN THE MOON

There is no denying the sleep-inducing qualities of Emmett’s (Ten Little Monsters, not reviewed) bedtime tale, so tender and delicate it could be the Platonic ideal for gentleness, while Cabban’s (Down in the Woods at Sleepy Time, 2000, etc.) illustrations add the softness of a night warmed by moonlight. The story concerns a young mole, who pokes from his hole one night to be dazzled by a full moon. Thinking he just must have it, he sets about trying to bring it down to him, first by jumping for it, then by poking at it with a stick, then by tossing acorns at it. With each attempt, he wakens a citizen of the forest: a rabbit, a hedgehog, and a squirrel. They agree with Mole that the moon is a sight, but caution that “it’s not as close as it looks.” Undeterred, Mole clambers up a tree, only to tumble down when he stretches too far. Lo, there’s the moon right there on the ground next to him (in a puddle that is, though Mole doesn’t know any more about puddles than he does about the moon). He reaches for it and it shatters and disappears. Mole is heartbroken, until Rabbit, Hedgehog, and Squirrel point up into the sky, where the moon shines on, glorious and gratifying as it ever was. A sweet lesson in not getting what you want, yet getting what you need. (Picture book. 2-5)