Hello, Moon
by Evan Turk; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Atheneum    40 pp.    g
9/22    978-1-5344-0080-1    $18.99
e-book ed.  978-1-5344-0081-8    $10.99

“Look! The Moon!” a child exclaims. “Should we go out to say hello?” Child and caretaker bundle up and head out into the snowy night to greet it; they go back inside promising that “we’ll see you again another night.” But just a few nights later, the child observes with dismay that “part of it is gone!” The adult reassuringly says that the moon is “just hiding its face a little” and that in two weeks’ time it will even look as though it’s gone altogether: “We call that the New Moon.” Turk’s textured paintings—done in marbled inks and gouache—with their varied compositions maintain visual interest in this mostly dark, monochromatic landscape. The bright colors of the two moon-watchers’ winter coats grow muted as the orb wanes, and warm interiors make for a sharp contrast to the silvered black and blue exteriors. When the pair witnesses the new moon, the child is ready for its apparent absence—and for the glorious show of stars now visible, twinkling against a dark sky. There is no attempt at a scientific explanation for what happens, just a conversation between adult and child that gently personifies the moon without quite anthropomorphizing it. A final glimpse of the waxing crescent moon provides a satisfying conclusion.

From the September/October 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.