How to Reach the Moon
by Nicolás Schuff; illus. by Ana Sender; trans. from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel
Primary    Amazon Crossing Kids    40 pp.
4/25    9781662522963    $18.99

How can one visit the moon without leaving our Earth? This question, reminiscent of a riddle or folktale, is answered in a surprising and loving fashion in this Argentinian import. Emilio, on a visit from his city home to his abuelo, who lives in a deep forest, wonders about the dark side of the moon. Abuelo describes the moon’s many faces, including “the face of the Earth, as if the moon were a mirror that the Earth looks into as it gets ready for bed.” He offers Emilio the chance of a moon visit. The two then enter that most magical of childhood kingdoms, the world of being out after dark. Skinny, freckled grandchild and amply bearded, gnome-like grandfather leap off a cliff, hand in hand, into the silver circle of the moon as reflected in a deep lagoon. Pencil illustrations in the muted greens and grays of a nighttime forest portray a world that welcomes the storytelling imagination. Starlight, moonlight, lamplight, and firelight strange up the familiar. This well-orchestrated adventure is a childhood idyll, complete with apple cake, chocolate, just enough danger, and the ultimate luxury of being carried home asleep in a grandfather’s arms.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.