Impossible Moon

by Breanna J. McDaniel, Tonya Engel (Illustrator)

Overview

A young girl undertakes an impossible trip to the moon, makes friends with the stars, and brings back something priceless in this gentle and lyrically told picture book about family, history, and memory.

Grana used to tell the best stories, and Mable used to long to soar through the heavens. Nowadays, Grana mostly lies in bed and Mable stays close to home. But one day, Grana asks, “If we can touch the moon, then what is impossible?”

So Mable decides to do just that, embarking on a journey through the stars where The Seven Sistahs, The Big Dipper, and other constellations help her on her quest and teach her about African mythology and African American history. With the support of her new companions, Mable reaches for her biggest dream yet: to make her sick grandma well again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534478978
Publisher:	Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/14/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,074,795
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Breanna J. McDaniel is the author of Hands Up! and Impossible Moon and a children’s literature scholar. She holds an MA in children’s literature from Simmons College and is currently pursuing her PhD at Cambridge University, where her research focuses on representations of black children in contemporary picture books.

Tonya Engel is a self-taught painter and children’s book illustrator whose work can be found in many picture books, among them Our Lady of Guadalupe, Because Claudette, Impossible Moon, and the jacket art for Hurricane Child. Her work is inspired by Southern folk artists. Early in her career, she explored abstract painting but soon began to concentrate on figurative form mixed with emotion and expressionistic narrative. Engel lives in Houston, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2022

A Black child named Mable grapples with her Grana’s illness by undertaking an expedition through the constellations in an attempt to touch the moon—and “make impossible things possible.” Among the stars, Mable sips from a drinking gourd (the Big Dipper), encounters a lion (Leo), and catches a ride on a massive dog (Canis Major, calmed with “Sit!” and “Who’sagoodboy?”). Engel’s richly flowing, layered oil and acrylic art offers vibrant depictions of the brave child as she travels past smiling twins (Gemini) before persuading an archer with long, many-hued locs (Orion) to shoot her like an arrow at the moon, with support for her efforts provided by the Pleiades (“each sistah cradling her and sharing lullabies”). As back matter details, McDaniel’s deliberate storytelling draws thoughtfully on history and mythology while centering Black representation among the stars. Through Mable, this spin on a star story offers a positive example of the importance of reaching for the impossible. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Young astronomer Mable loves to listen to Grana’s stories, but her grandmother is ill and “too weak to tell stories now.” As Mable stays close to Grana’s bedside, she looks up at the sky through a telescope, making maps of the constellations. “If we can touch the moon,” Grana asks her granddaughter, “then what is impossible?”

Later that night, Mable embarks on a quest to “make impossible things possible” by touching the moon. After a countdown, she rockets into the sky like a spaceship. As she soars among the constellations, she recognizes fantastical figures from her grandmother’s tales of African mythology and African American history, including an archer, a pair of twins and a friendly dog. When Mable stops for a sip of water from the drinking gourd, she sees tracks that remind her of the Underground Railroad. Eventually, she begins to feel tired, and a group of celestial women cocoon her in a blanket of stars until she falls asleep. No miracle awaits when Mable awakens the next morning, but Grana feels well enough to sit up and ask Mable to tell her a story.

Author Breanna J. McDaniel’s prose is warm and inviting. Grana’s illness seems severe, but McDaniel constructs a comforting, hopeful narrative that emphasizes the strong, loving relationship between Mable and her grandmother. In the book’s backmatter, McDaniel (Hands Up!) movingly describes Impossible Moon‘s personal origins. She also provides brief descriptions of the constellations Mable encounters and explains their roles in African American culture.

Illustrator Tonya Engel’s oil and acrylic illustrations are richly hued and playful. Small flames trail behind Mable’s feet as she shoots up into the sky, a rocket ship of a girl. Brilliant blues evoke the dreamlike atmosphere of Mable’s nighttime adventure, while tiny splatters of white and yellow convey the vast number of distant stars.

Readers who enjoyed Antwan Eady and Gracey Zhang’s Nigel and the Moon won’t want to miss this fresh, imaginative lunar tale. It belongs on the nightstands of young dreamers everywhere

6/11/22 - BookPage

This elegant, lyrical picture book is a contemplative and curative journey into a world of possibilities.

6/1/22 - Booklist

2022-01-25
If Mable can touch the moon, what else might she be able to do?

Mable, presenting as Black with long brown hair, has always loved the stories Grana tells her. However, Grana is now sick, and “it seems impossible she will ever get better.” One day, while Mable pores over her “moon maps,” Grana notes that if human beings can reach the moon, then nothing is impossible. That night, Mable dreams of flying to the moon. She launches from her bed-turned-trampoline and sails through the night sky. There, she sees a drinking gourd, a lion, a giant dog, a set of twins, a man pouring water, an archer who shoots her toward the moon, and a group of seven sisters who comfort her when she just misses it. When she wakes up, Mable tells Grana about her journey. Grana, now sitting up in bed when it was impossible before, tells Mable what a great storyteller she is. Encouraged by Grana’s step toward recovery, Mable goes to bed that night determined to finally touch the moon and perhaps make the impossible possible for Grana. Engel’s vivid, textured illustrations are spectacular. The stunning washes of blue, violet, aqua, pink, and gold play well with the dreamy theme. The backmatter consists of an author’s note about the impetus for the book and a description of the seven constellations depicted therein. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Black girl magic to the moon and back. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews