Review by New York Times Review
like most admirers of classic children's books, I have a healthy appreciation for "Goodnight Moon." Yet when I first encountered this group of similarly themed books, I found myself thinking instead of "Yertle the Hirtle." In that Seussian tale of amphibian ambition, the moon torments King Yertle by reminding him of his limitations: "But, while he was shouting, he saw with surprise/ That the moon of the evening was starting to rise/ Up over his head in the darkening skies." The moon's majestic, silent mockery sets a revolution in motion and, rather than wishing the king good night, it helps his subjects bid tyranny goodbye. Clearly the moon has an enviable dramatic range, hence its continuing role as a muse and major player in children's stories. The boy at the center of "Windows" looks a few years older than Peter, the young protagonist of Ezra Jack Keats's "The Snowy Day." But with his brown skin and red hooded jacket he still brings that venerable favorite to mind. His adventure begins "at the end of the day, before the town goes to sleep." Taking his dog for a stroll in "the almost-night," the boy beholds his community with a child's fanciful perspective. Julia Denos's prose, spare, evocative and spiced with an occasional, subtle rhyme, is very much in sync with the illustrator E. B. Goodale's mixed-media art. The buildings are mostly weathered and unspectacular, in the manner of a typical, perhaps working-class, neighborhood. But they are enlivened by their windows, bright golden rectangles providing glimpses of charming domestic scenes. "One window might be tall, with the curtains drawn," Denos writes, "or small, with a party inside." A two-page panorama of windows, with its charmingly framed miniature portraits of dancing couples, a pensive girl, a man at a piano, and the petallike blades of an electric fan, is particularly lovely. Denos and Goodale provide a touch of nostalgia in a pair of pals calling to each other from adjacent houses, stretching a string between two cans. The highlight of the boy's sojourn is the end, when he returns home to see his mother in the window, waiting for him. It's a reassuring moment in these times, when walking at night in a hoodie can have different, even troubling associations for a child of color. While the "bright and rounded" moon makes a cameo appearance in the endpapers of "Windows," it looms much larger in "Good Night, Planet." But we're getting ahead of the story. First we tag along while a little girl spends a joyous, exhausting day with her pet stuffed animal, Planet. At day's end, after the girl has fallen promptly to sleep, Planet slips out of bed and goes on an evening frolic. Planet's companions - Elliot the family dog, and Bradley, a friendly mouse - have a swinging good time with the house to themselves, enjoying cookies and people-free fellowship. A quest for the ultimate midnight snack leads to the moon hovering hugely over the backyard, "the biggest cookie ever." Liniers, a cartoonist by trade, shifts easily from single-panel scenes to as many as nine panels on a page. It's a fast-moving, richly imagined story that loses nothing in repeated readings. A fable about a stuffed animal that comes to life risks being a tedious cliché, but in Liniers's skillful hands, "Good Night, Planet" is anything but. "City Moon" follows a little boy and his mom out on an evening walk. Clad in cozy pajamas, the boy narrates their mission "to look for the moon." Their quarry ducks in and out of view behind tall buildings as the pair navigate their autumnal surroundings. They pass many people too busy to look for the moon, caught up in mailing letters, practicing trumpets in upstairs bedrooms, doing homework and buying groceries. Despite the presence of speeding cars and fire engines with wailing sirens, Blanca Gomez's illustrations create an atmosphere that is overwhelmingly quiet. Alongside them, Rachael Cole's prose unfolds at a measured pace that will ease young readers into a restful mood. Porch lights glow softly, and above the boy's head, stars are "glittery dots in the sky." As they accumulate, the details in the art exert an understated effect, from the Matisse-like birds floating beneath the clouds to the tiny sailboats on the boy's pajamas. And there's the moon itself, "bright and light and round." The endearing moppet featured in "La La La" may remind readers of a certain vintage of the titular star of "Frances FaceMaker," William Cole and Tomi Ungerer's 1963 bedtime story. That book's stubborn little protagonist sports a similar hairstyle and equally elastic expressions. Before we get to read a word, Jaime Kim's illustrations help us to understand that the girl is thoughtful and determined. This is more than a little helpful, as the language Kate DiCamillo's tiny heroine employs is minimal, though highly melodic. Singing as she dreams and schemes, the solitary girl devises a plan to climb to the moon. When her plan is thwarted, it appears as if the moon will taunt her much as it did our old friend King Yertle. But DiCamillo, a twotime Newbery Medal winner (for "The Tale of Despereaux" and "Flora & Ulysses"), resolves her tale in a hopeful twist that will not be revealed here. Kim ("Take Heart, My Child") has created sumptuous images, especially several pages awash in deep, rich purples, that suggest an expansive dreamscape where anything is possible. At the same time, DiCamillo's barelythere text gives the art space to breathe, leaving room for children to fill in the silences with their own boundless imaginations. JABARl ASIM'S next book for children, "A Child's Introduction to African-American History," will be published in January.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 12, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
DiCamillo and Kim combine their considerable talents in this almost wordless picture book that speaks to a universal longing: the hope that we are not alone. When the story begins, the girl with the bobbed hair is alone, with only the sound of her repeated sung note, la, to keep her company. Perhaps following a falling leaf outside and into the woods will bring her in contact with another? But even a shouted la, la, la doesn't elicit companionship. Discouraged but not done, she continues into the night, under the stars, where she finds a ladder to climb almost to the moon. It's not until she's back on the ground, almost ready to quit that a la answers her own, and the smiling presence of the moon shines its way into her existence. Kim's gouache-and-acrylic artwork, graphically strong and full of heart, illuminates DiCamillo's concept. Adults could almost use this as a flip-book with children, so full of movement are the pictures. But the best use will be as a springboard for discussion about loneliness, life, and love. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: DiCamillo is among kid lit's top names. Everyone will need to have this, if not multiple copies of it.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A small girl with blunt-cut hair and a determined look shuts her eyes and folds her hands. "La," she sings. She tries a few more notes: "La La La." Nothing happens. She wanders across the pages and outdoors, singing to falling maple leaves. They don't sing back. She sings to the starry purple sky. Nothing. She drags a ladder outside and climbs up to the full moon: "La La." No response. Though the girl is singing, she's not performing or showing off. She's simply saying: "See me! Acknowledge me! Play with me!" And though recognition is a long time coming, when the full golden moon finally sings back to her, it's a triumph. Kim's spreads form a long, almost cinematic sequence. The girl is adorable, though the night world she moves through is dazzling rather than cute-it takes bravery and audacity to sing to that beauty. DiCamillo's story, told with a single word, is one even youngest readers can understand. Everyone wants to be seen, and everyone wants someone to sing back to them. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. Illustrator's agent: Claire Easton, Painted Words. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A small girl, all alone, sends forth a tentative "la" but receives no reply. Venturing outside, she follows orange leaves past trees and pond and peers through tall grasses. No animals. No people. Just her repetitive, increasingly urgent variations of "La? Laaaa!" Day turns to purple night with shimmering starlight. Even climbing a ladder to the moon fails to garner a response. Dejected, she falls asleep and wakens to a reply at last. Golden moon knows LA! LA! too. Although DiCamillo provided the story concept, its development and execution rest squarely with artist Kim. Her cinematic watercolor and ink illustrations convey the shifting emotions of the main character, and her nighttime scenes are particularly luminous. This low-key, visually striking exploration of loneliness and friendship may resonate with adults and some introspective children, but broad appeal seems unlikely. Educators could use it as a writing prompt or discussion starter or for encouraging children to express their feelings in some kind of visual medium-painting, collage, clay work. Overall, Kim has taken DiCamillo's "small, tentative song" and turned it into a chorale. VERDICT With DiCamillo's popularity and publisher plans for an extensive marketing campaign, this title is likely to be in demand.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato © Copyright 2017. 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
A girl sings "La" alone. She appreciates the sound but wants accompaniment. She tries singing to a tree ("La La La"), to a plant ("La La?"), and finally to the moon, which ultimately answers her song ("LA! LA! LA!"). This practically wordless book--featuring leaf- and light-speckled outdoor scenes rendered in watercolor, ink, and digital techniques--has much to say about collaboration and persistence. (c) Copyright 2018. 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
A lonely child's perseverance helps her find the unlikeliest of companions.With a single "La," a small Asian child confidently begins to sing, standing in a shaft of light. Within a few gray-hued pages, the girl (identified as such in the author's and illustrator's notes) realizes that she's singing alone. Her imaginary spotlight gone, she stomps off to chase the colorful leaves outside. Still alone, she sings and shouts "Laaaaaaaaa!" to no avail. Dejected, she goes home, venturing out again in the purple evening. She tries hard to get the moon's attention, even climbing a ladder to sing to it. (Here, her "La"s are set in black type against the dark purple sky, posing a low-contrast challenge to legibility.) Finally, the moon responds with a firm "LA!" to begin a sparkling duet. In a nearly wordless book, DiCamillo delivers an inspiring, powerful story beautifully realized through Kim's mixed-media illustrations. At more than twice the length of a standard 32-page picture book, that's quite a feat. The square format contains soft colors that contrast with strong geometric design elements, subtly underscoring the push and pull of emotional tension. The limited palette of comforting, complementary purples and yellows along with the character's expressive body language evoke both her loneliness and determination to overcome it. For a dreamer, it's easy to imagine a singer in the benevolent face in the moonhere it's a symbol of hope. (Picture book. 5-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
