Moon

February 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.

February 15, 2018
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)

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March 1, 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

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2018
Grades K-2 There's a lot going on in Moon's life: between homework, soccer practice, and trumpet lessons, she rarely has a minute to herself. And though she always does everything she's supposed to, she wonders what it would be like not to. One night, Moon follows a shooting star and finds something different: paw prints, and a wolf! Over the course of one magical night, the wolf shows Moon how to be wild, and when Moon returns home, she isn't the same Moon anymore. Moon, portrayed in Oliver's luminous dark-palette illustrations as a wide-eyed, purple-skinned girl, passes a graffitied wolf on the wall as she walks home with her books; later, a cartoon wolf is doodled on her to-do list. When she returns to school, eagle-eyed readers will catch the subtle changes on the graffiti wall: as she passes by, Moon appears, for a minute, to have a wolf's ears and tail. A paean to Where the Wild Things Are that reminds readers of the importance of play and of stillness in a busy world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Over-scheduled girl Moon ponders, "What would it feel like to be free?" One night Moon goes outside to play, dance, and howl with a wolf until her mother's voice calls her home. That Moon is changed by the wolf's example is beautifully depicted in Oliver's gorgeous mixed-media art: (purple-skinned) Moon's slumped posture in the beginning contrasts strikingly with her proud stance at book's end.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)