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WHEN MOON FELL DOWN

Name: WHEN MOON FELL DOWN
Author: Linda Smith
ISBN: 0-06-028301-7

by Linda Smith & illustrated by Kathryn Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 31, 2001

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The Moon has taken many an excursion to Earth in picture books, but never has he had a better time. Having always had only a view from above, Moon is delighted upon landing to learn that horses have knees; then, accompanied by a friendly cow, he sails into a sleeping town to window shop, falls in love with a blinking hotel sign, and dances with his bovine companion until dawn. Brown (Stella’s Dancing Days, p. 178, etc.) depicts Moon as a comfortably dressed, round-headed gent with widely set dot eyes and a contagious smile—a smile that survives even the Farmer’s remonstrance: “ ‘Moon!’ he cried. ‘This isn’t right! / Cow, how dare you roam! / A moon belongs in the sky at night, / And a cow belongs at home.’ ” Maybe so, but Moon is last seen winking and grinning warmly down from the sky, a celestial invitation to share happy memories. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: May 31, 2001

ISBN: 0-06-028301-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE INSIDE TREE
by Linda Smith & illustrated by David Parkins

- BOOK REVIEW
MRS. CRUMP’S CAT
by Linda Smith & illustrated by David Roberts

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A BOOT
by Linda Smith & illustrated by Jane Manning

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005

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The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
MAMA IN THE MOON
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
CLICK, CLACK, GOOD NIGHT
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Betsy Lewin

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)