Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Moon is bored of the night and covets Sun's time spent in the day, which is surely full of bright flowers growing, children playing, and animals lounging. So Sun strikes a deal: if they swap, they swap for good, but first Moon must spend one whole night paying close attention to what happens in nighttime. When Moon looks at the after-dark world with fresh eyes, he see nothing but loveliness the bright lights of a carnival, a family of brick-red foxes emerging from their den, a spindle-legged lamplighter illuminating the street and he decides he could never give it up. It's an endearing and gratifying story of acceptance and patience, but it's Yankey's simply stunning illustrations that make this such a joy to pore over. In warm, saturated hues and tapestry-like textures, she paints gorgeous, captivating spreads of bold red poppies towering in the foreground of a field of wildflowers; lanky tigers stretched out in pools of sunshine; and a bunk bed of sleeping children, rendered in delicate, whisper-thin lines and muted tones, dreaming of boisterous colors and madcap adventures. Each wide-format, two-page spread is a beautiful composition on its own, but together with the gentle lines of the story, they invite close, slow examination, just as the pale-green moon must look carefully to notice the splendid magic of the night. Truly enchanting.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a fablelike story about greener grasses and discovering wonder in one's own circumstances, the moon wishes to take the place of the sun for a day: "Moon imagined Sun saw beautiful sights like flowers blooming, children playing, and tigers sunbathing." While Sun agrees to switch places, there are two conditions-that Moon agrees to take on Sun's role forever and that he must first closely observe what unfolds on the Earth during the night. Yankey's (Bluebird) poetic descriptions provide ample opportunity for her inky, enigmatic artwork to flourish. After dark, Moon observes gold-inlaid elephants forming a towering canopy for a nighttime carnival, lean foxes awakening in a den of wildflowers, and exploding fireworks that resemble stained glass. He also witnesses the whimsical dreams of children, boys and girls borne aloft in sailboats, a goose, and hot-air balloons. Ornamental detailing, collage elements, and delicately penciled figures that call to mind 19th-century children's book illustrations (a gangly lamplighter could be kin to the Mad Hatter) combine to create a lyrical reverie. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2- Moon wants to spend one day-just one day-being the sun. Moon sees his world as boring and lonely, for it is dark and everyone is asleep during his nightly watch. In comparison, Sun's life seems so much better, with beautiful flowers blooming, children playing, even tigers sunbathing. So, Moon asks Sun to trade places. Sun agrees, but only on two conditions. First, the trade is a permanent one and second, Moon "must spend an entire night in the sky looking very closely at the earth -closer than [he] ever has" before deciding. Moon is thrilled and agrees immediately. Carefully watching through the night, he notices things he never saw before. Down on earth below, there is a lively nighttime carnival, foxes waking to the hunt, children in their beds dreaming, blossoms on the baobab tree, fireworks, and so much more. It is all so fascinating that Moon decides he wants to do nothing more than to spend his time "enjoying the exciting and wonderful things that [come] to life in his moonlight." The artwork, which combines collage, cut-outs, porcelain block, and inks, is expertly used to create a beautiful and stunning modern-day folktale. The detailed, stylized artwork is perfectly in tune with the text. VERDICT A terrific book pulled together with wonderful artwork. A treat for the eyes and ears.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA © Copyright 2015. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Luminous, intricate illustrations light up this tale of a lonely Moon, who yearns to trade places with the wise Sun. Imagining the wonder of watching flowers bloom and children play, Moon eagerly proposes the switchbut Sun makes two preconditions: first, the exchange must be permanent, and second, Moon should first spend an entire night looking down at Earth more closely than ever before. Yankey lays flat, cut-paper figures of pale children, bright carpets of delicate flowers, sinuously elongated wild creatures, and flowing lines of landscape over backgrounds of deep, starry darkness. With this technique, she shows the astonished Moon city lights shining out, sleeping children flying through magical dreams, baobab flowers floating like ghosts, raccoons scampering on mysterious errands in the silvery forest, and fireflies gleaming like low stars. All of these are profound revelations, and by the time Sun returns, the enthralled Moon has changed his mind completely about ever losing them. The narrative describes Moon's discoveries in sonorous but unaffected language. A lovely tale to share, day or night. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
