Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 1. Stevenson's famous 12-line poem, which begins "The moon has a face / like the clock in the hall," becomes the text of a picture-book depiction of the nighttime outing of a contemporary father and his child. Leaving Mother and Baby behind, they climb into a truck with the dog, the cat, and some provisions; travel to the dock; and take their boat across a cove and back again while they watch the places and creatures illuminated by the moon. The pictured journey creates a vivid, visual counterpoint to the poetry, which flows as magically as an incantation. Though inspired by the poem, the luminous ink-and-watercolor illustrations reflect Pearson's creative imagination and her sure sense of what is visually interesting to young children. Along with the many detailed pictures of the characters' expedition, one double-page spread is a lovely panorama of the water and the surrounding landscape, with the moon floating above it all. Picture-book versions of "Block City," "My Shadow," and other poems drawn from Stevenson's A 0 Child's Garden of Verses have entranced children over the years. This mesmerizing interpretation shows once again the timeless quality of the poet's verse. Jane Yolen's Owl Moon0 (1987), Amy Tan's The Moon Lady0 (1995), and Cynthia Rylant's Long Night Moon0 (2004) make excellent follow-ups or companions to this lovely book. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-"The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;/She shines on thieves on the garden wall,/On streets and fields/and harbour quays,-." Stevenson's poetic images might seem a bit puzzling to young listeners today, but they make perfect sense juxtaposed with this satisfying visual story of a nighttime boat ride. The full moon outside a family's house parallels the round face of the tall clock as a small boy and his father prepare for the outing. Outside, raccoons are busy on the garden wall. Lots of homey detail in the line drawings washed in watercolor sketch in the busy home life as Mom in her bathrobe and slippers and a sleepy baby stay at home while the family dog and cat curl up in the back of the pickup truck to join the outing. The poetic lines unfold with the trip through the countryside, out on the lake, and eventually back home and into bed. The loving family, their energetic pets, the homey clutter, and the lush countryside at night convey a lovely bedtime story that concludes with the morning sun rising on a new day. Stevenson's lines fall pleasantly on the ear, and Pearson offers much to see on this moonlit night. The three stanzas of the poem appear together in reprise as the final page in a beautifully crafted interpretation that's sure to be widely enjoyed as family reading.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The full moon in a rich blue sky presides over each scene in this attractive book, as a young boy leaves his bed and takes a motorboat trip across a small cove with his father. Full of engaging, sometimes humorous details, the watercolor and ink illustrations highlight the timelessness of Stevenson's poem, first published in A Child's Garden of Verses. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Pearson's watercolor-and-ink illustrations add an entirely new dimension to Stevenson's classic poem. They begin with thecozy image of afather perched onthe edge of his son's bed, but this father is not reading the boy a bedtime story or tucking him in, as readers might expect. This father is actually coaxing his sleepy son out of bed for a nighttime boat-ride. The two venture out into a world that, though ordinary and familiar on one level, is imbued with a kind of magic and mystery in the moonlight. Upon their return home, the boy is asleep in his father's arms, but the morning sun finds him dashing into his parents' room, eager to share his adventures with his mother as his exhausted father sleeps on. Pearson's illustrations have remade a lovely children's poem about the moon into a lively story of shared discovery. Children will enjoy making their own discoveries in her engaging pictures, which are filled with activity and create just the right mood of quiet excitement. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
