Review by Booklist Review
As a girl and her parents drive home from a nearby hill, they watch the big, beautiful moon, which seems to follow them home. In the morning, they awaken to find the moon, slightly smaller than their house, floating balloon-like in their backyard. Though the girl goes to school, day never dawns. Teachers and townsfolk yawn. After school, the girl and her parents watch as tidal waters, drawn by the moon, seep into their yard. They hatch a plan to return the moon to the sky. Dreamlike, this picture book skates on thin ice with its mixture of fantasy and reality. Some narrative elements, such as the mother's gently amusing final comment, strengthen the story, while others seem a bit contrived. Still, the image of the luminous moon, which feels close enough to touch and small enough for a child to explore, is well worth seeing. A drowsy, rather surreal bedtime story.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rex's story begins and ends in sleep, and-although it's never stated explicitly-seems to describe a dream. The narrator, lifted from the backseat of a car and put to bed, awakens to see the moon, glowing and enormous, floating in her backyard. "I'm going to have a look around," the girl announces. "Okay," says her mother, showing little surprise. "Zip up your coat." Rex's beautifully drafted nighttime paintings, done with courtroomlike objectivity, are just right for the absentminded alienation of dreams. In a striking spread, the girl is shown at many points on the lunar surface, like the Little Prince on his planet. The moon's presence (and the permanent night it brings) causes trouble for the rest of the town; her teacher can't stay awake, and a punk band croons lullabies from a garage. Lonely images of a nighttime car trip evoke Edward Hopper paintings as the girl and her family lead the moon back into the sky. It's a suggestive account of the movements of the dreaming mind, and a gentle departure from Rex's more madcap work. Ages 3-7. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this luminous fantasy, the moon follows a young girl home and takes up residence in her backyard, throwing the world into a sleepy dream-state. Narrator Susie Berneis has a pleasant voice and cadence, adding depth and emotion without overdramatizing the film. The illustrations from the book (Hyperion, 2013) are presented with variety, shown at different sizes with individual spreads broken up and shown sequentially, or with figures disappearing and reappearing to indicate movement. The depictions generally "float" on a black background, which is well suited to the nighttime setting and draws the viewer's eye to the jewel-toned art. The minimal animation strikes a nice balance between the book's static images and the type of action-packed viewing experience children normally see. The DVD offers two viewing options, both a straight narration of the story and a read-along option where the words are highlighted at the bottom of the screen as they are spoken. Overall, this is a well-done film that respects the source material and still provides additional value to the experience of the book.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN (c) Copyright 2014. 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
One night the moon lands in a girl's backyard. The next day the community can barely stay awake without sunlight, so the girl figures out a way to get the moon back into the sky. Rex hints that it might all be a dream, but his realistic illustrations give the proceedings a delectably surreal quality and infused it all with humor and heart. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The moon follows a girl home, takes up residence in her yard and stays put--keeping the sun from rising and the town stuck in a drowsy stupor. Enchanting language and a jaw-dropping premise place readers under a similar somnolent spell. Gentle rhymes, recurring consonance and almost subliminal rhythms make murky, dreamy paintings vivid and the surreal story sleepily spectacular. Who wouldn't close their eyes and rock to these soothing lines, as startlingly brilliant as moonlight? "That was when the tide came in. / It trickled in to our backyard. The tide came in, smooth and thin, / and settled underneath our moon." Their moon, cratered, full and luminous, hovers low just off the back porch; the girl walks its circumference and asks from upside down, "What now?" When teachers nod off and punk bands sing lullabies, the moon's family decides to drive back up the mountain, where they first picked up their round friend, in the hope it will follow. Children familiar with soporific car trips will appreciate these commonplace scenes that frame such a fantastical story. Straightforward illustrations and traditional sepia, aerial renderings of the town make this fantastical lunar story all the more wondrous. This mashup of the ordinary and the far-out, of a little neighborhood and a giant, glowing orb from outer space, thrills. (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
