Bringing Down the Moon

Another moon book made its way into my pile of books to review and I thought that it would be fun to have it side by side with Kitten's First Full Moon. Bringing Down the Moon, written by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, is similar in some ways to Henkes' book but there are more than enough difference to make this one another book that would make a perfect bedtime story.

Bringing Down the Moon follows Mole who burrows out of the ground one night to find the full moon hanging in the sky. It is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen and he decides that he wants it. He tries to jump to bring it down until Rabbit who sagely tells him that it's "not as close as is looks". Then he finds a stick and tries to poke it down until he runs into Hedgehog and she tells him the same thing. Then he starts throwing stones at the moon but hits Squirrel instead who also tells him that it's not as close as it looks. When Mole finally climbs a tree to grab the moon, he goes to far until the branch and falls down into a puddle. When he looks into the puddle he sees the reflection of the moon and tries to grab it. It ripples and at that moment a cloud goes over the moon. Mole begins to cry thinking he's broken it, until the other animals, hearing his cries, come to let him know that the moon is always in the sky and he can always look at it there.

I loved the repeated "It's not as close as it looks" which each animals says to Mole. At the end, as they all stare up at the big beautiful moon, Mole finally agrees with the statement and the story comes full circle. Jonathan Emmett plays with the language throughout the book making this a wonderful read-aloud. As Mole is jumping for the moon we hear "thumpety bump" and the stones make a plinkety plink when thrown. I loved the moment when Mole is explaining the troubles he has with the other animals. "'I'm all right,' sobbed Mole. 'But the moon isn't! I pulled it down, and then I broke it, and it was SO beautiful...and now I'll never see it again." I can just see a child saying the same thing while crying. The dialogue is just perfect with Mole playing the child, learning as he goes, and the other woodland creatures acting as the sage teachers and comforters. And of course the sweet ending will make everyone smile.

Vanessa Cabban's illustrations are simply beautiful. They are done in watercolor which gives everything a softer tone. She stays mostly with browns and blues and greens but the colors are subtle, creating the impression of nighttime. Where Henkes used black and white, the use of color makes this seems more child-like and softer. Most of the animals are brown like the dirt so Mole who is a purply-blue stands out even more clearly. He is adorable with his little snout and cute little hands and feet. All the animals are adorable. The images where Mole is up the tree and venturing out onto the branch has to be one of my favorites. Cabban portrays his cautiousness with a simple body pose. Beautiful illustrations, a cute story, and a sweet ending. A perfect bedtime story.

Kitten's First Full Moon

Time for a classic, well at least a modern classic. And a Caldecott winner. I had never read Kevin Henkes' very popular book Kitten's First Full Moon until this week. The book has become an instant classic since its publication and I figured I simply had to read it. I've loved Henkes' other work and was fully prepared for a wonderful story.

The book follows Kitten who sees a big bowl of milk in the sky (aka the moon) and decides she wants to drink it. She leaps from the steps to try to catch it but only tumbles onto the sidewalk. Then she follows it farther and farther away from the house trying to catch it. When she tries to climb to the top of the tree to grab it, she only ends up stuck and scared. But then she sees a gigantic bowl of milk in the pond (moon's reflection) and jumps for it. And of course ends up soaking wet. She heads back home still hungry and finds a small bowl of milk (this time actually milk) waiting for her on the porch.

This is such a simple but cute story. I'm sure I've heard the premise before but I love the mistakes that Kitten makes when trying to grab the moon. When she first sees the moon she sticks out her tongue to lick it and catches a lightening bug. It is the sweet humor and the repeated phrase of "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting", that makes you want to turn the page to see what new adventure the kitten will get into. I loved the repeated "Poor Kitten" that gets changed at the end after Kitten finds the milk. The wording is short, making for a very nice quick read aloud, a great bedtime story.

The illustrations are done in black and white with various shades of grey bordering on purple. Henkes uses thick black outlines for everything to make them stand out wonderfully against the different greys. The images are created using gouache and colored pencil but the lack of color is what I find so intriguing. It is rare to see a book in black, white, and grey anymore. But in this case it gives the impression of what things look like in the moonlight. Only various shades appear in the dark and this book mirrors that well. Henkes uses the moon's reflection on the little white cat very effectively with some sections of the cat in shadow. The shapes are simple, the flowers just little circles on stalks, the pond just big circle swirls to represent waves. The images, like the words, are simple and sweet. I loved this little adventure tale. Well worth a read.

What's Under the Bed?

I've already admitted many times that I regularly judge a book by its cover. I'm more likely to check out a book if the cover appeals to me. So when I saw the little boy on the cover of Joe Fenton's What's Under the Bed? I knew I had to check the book out. How can you possibly resist those huge glasses, small eyes, worried expression, and adorable teddy bear?

This cute little story is simple but illustrated with an eye towards the adorable and strange. The majority of spreads are in black, white, and shades of grey. But each of them have a speck of color in them to draw attention. Whether it is Fred's (the narrator) blue striped pajamas, or a monster's huge red head, the color draws our attention. The simple story is told in rhyme (apparently I had a theme for the week since most of my books rhymed, unintentional I assure you). It tells the story of Fred, who is told to go to bed. Fred climbs into bed but then thinks he hears a sounds and starts to imagine the scary monsters that could be under his bed. He imagines them green or red, big or small, with sharp nails, or multiple tails. All this time he is seeing the terrible monsters of his imagination. When he finally does look it is only his teddy bear Ted.

This book is just adorable. Fred is cute with his gigantic head (and even bigger glasses), little body, and excellent expressions. We can see Fred's fear when he is about to look under the bed. He's simply terrified. I loved the roundness of the images. Fred, Ted, and even the bed are rounded, giving it a very visually appealing look for children. Even the monsters are somewhat circular. The monsters are well done to not be terrifying and will more likely make children giggle, then be afraid. These are not the scary monsters of monster movies but softer monsters like those found in Monsters Inc. The dark images heighten the suspense but the gentle roundness of the shapes seems to say that everything will be alright. The illustrations are very cartoony, making them more palatable to children who are easily frightened. The book isn't scary, in fact it's silly. This is a great book for children who are dealing with monsters under the bed. And a cute book for anyone else.

[Edit: What's Under the Bed was chosen for the General Mills book giveaway so you may be able to find little copies of the book tucked into your Cheerios and other cereals. I know those spots were very hotly competed for, so my Congratulations to Joe.]