Moon

by Alison Oliver, Alison Oliver (Illustrator)

Overview

For the over-scheduled generation, the illustrator of the popular BabyLit books explores the joy found in wildness, following in the footsteps of beloved bestsellers The Night Gardener and Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. 

Like many children, Moon leads a busy life. School, homework, music lessons, sports, and the next day it begins again. She wonders if things could be different. Then, one night, she meets a wolf.

The wolf takes Moon deep into the dark, fantastical forest and there she learns to howl, how to hide, how to be still, and how to be wild. And in that, she learns what it’s like to be free.

This simply worded and stunningly illustrated story reveals the joy to be found in play, nature, and, most of all, embracing the wild in us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328781604
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,146,961
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Alison Oliver is the author-illustrator of Moon and the illustrator of more than 30 BabyLit board books, including, most recently, Anne of Green Gables. Sales for the series total more than 1.8 million copies. She is also author-illustrator of a forthcoming Be Bold, Baby board book series, featuring biographies of strong, inspiring women. Alison lives in New York City, where she also runs a design studio called Sugar. www.pure-sugar.com; Instagram @alisonoliverdesign.

Alison Oliver is the author-illustrator of Moon and the illustrator of more than 30 BabyLit board books, including, most recently, Anne of Green Gables. Sales for the series total more than 1.8 million copies. She is also author-illustrator of a forthcoming Be Bold, Baby board book series, featuring biographies of strong, inspiring women. Alison lives in New York City, where she also runs a design studio called Sugar. www.pure-sugar.com; Instagram @alisonoliverdesign.

Editorial Reviews

Oliver's picture book debut channels Where the Wild Things Are for the hovered-over modern child.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

02/12/2018
Moon has purple skin, long black hair, and a daunting list of responsibilities—soccer practice, trumpet lessons, etc. She wants more (“To run. To yell. To be wild”), and a nighttime visit from a wolf answers her yearning. The wolf leads Moon to its pack, and they show her “the wolfy ways.” Vignettes in a nocturnal palette of black, purple, and green show Moon blissfully howling with the pack under a sliver of waning moon, then entering into tranquil waiting: “The chirping of the insects seemed to grow quiet. The ocean of stars felt not so far away.” Moon returns to her old life transformed, and the freedom she’s tasted spreads to her friends; in the final spread, they all wear garlands of flowers. In her debut as author, Oliver (illustrator of the BabyLit board book series) handles her story’s pacing with skill, setting up just enough backstory to establish Moon’s frustration, then lavishing attention on her midnight encounter. Plenty of stories assure readers that nature is worth exploring; this one suggests that it has the power to change them. Ages 4–7. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Convincingly and sweetly told, Moon's story is a striking authorial debut from illustrator Oliver." — Kirkus Reviews

"A paean to Where the Wild Things Are that reminds readers of the importance of play and of stillness in a busy world." — Booklist

"In her debut as author, Oliver (illustrator of the BabyLit board book series) handles her story’s pacing with skill, setting up just enough backstory to establish Moon’s frustration, then lavishing attention on her midnight encounter." — Publishers Weekly

"An upbeat and howling-good read-aloud." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Moon is a young girl with a highly relatable problem. She attends school, does her homework, cleans her room, goes to soccer practice, takes trumpet lessons, and works with her math tutor. There is always so much that Moon has to do. She wonders what it would be like to live free, unburdened from her "Stuff to Do" list. Late one night, Moon encounters a friendly wolf outside in the garden. Wolf gives her a ride to a clearing in the Great Forest, where the wolf's pack welcomes her. The pack teaches Moon their "wolfy ways"—to pounce, to play, to howl, and to be truly still. Naturally, Moon must eventually return to her ordinary daily routine, but she is changed by her experience. Moon takes her wild, wolfy ways to school with her, appearing to have taught classmates to howl and pounce with a smile on her face. Simple and charming, this story reminds readers that time spent on unstructured play, on meditation, or out in nature is never wasted. Rather, these events refresh us all so that we can tackle our daily "Stuff to Do" lists. The bold, collage-style illustrations will mesmerize children. Especially striking is the contrast between the night-darkened forest and lavender-skinned Moon, attired in a white dress, frolicking joyfully with white-gray wolves. VERDICT An upbeat and howling-good read-aloud, perfect for one-on-one and storytime sharing. Recommended for purchase.—Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL

School Library Journal

2018-02-03
An overscheduled kid gets a taste of the wild life of wolves and brings some of it back home.Moon is a young girl with a long list of to-dos, including homework, trumpet lessons, "stuff and more stuff.…Moon always did it all. But she wondered what it would be like not to." Moon tries to learn what it would be like to be wild in books, but that's a dead end. Instead, she wanders out one night and befriends a benign pack of wolves. She asks them to show her "the wolfy ways," leading to pouncing, playing, and, of course, howling. It's exactly what one would expect, as Moon learns the value of being wild once in a while, which she brings back to her school, to the enjoyment (and participation) of classmates. But one passage resonates and stands apart from the rest, on a double-page spread in which Moon and a wolf calmly meditate, their images reflected in a pool of water, and Moon learns "How to be still, how to listen and feel." The delicate illustrations, which have a dreamlike quality in their glowing whites and luminous pastels (not to mention Moon's purple skin), suggest that this may be a dream, but what Moon learns is not.Convincingly and sweetly told, Moon's story is a striking authorial debut from illustrator Oliver. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews