Moonlight
by Stephen Savage; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Porter/Holiday    32 pp.    g
8/22    978-0-8234-5084-8    $18.99
e-book ed. 978-0-8234-5305-4    $11.99

“Something is on the move,” but what could it be? In the darkness of night, each page-turn offers the viewer tantalizing glimpses—along a jungle’s vines, down a waterfall’s descent, and into a river below. White shards of light continue to shimmer in a ship’s wake, the edge of a cloud hanging above, and a plane sputtering through those same clouds, until the light reaches a quiet neighborhood. At last, the moonlight “rests for a while in your bedroom, next to you, softly fading.” As the light dissipates, leaving the child and their stuffed bear in darkness, the text reassures them, “Don’t worry. The moonlight will come back tonight.” Mysterious but not unsettling, Savage’s lyrical bedtime book invites pajama-clad listeners into a moment of quiet wonder. Well-placed text complements the inked block prints to create a thoughtful interplay between shadow and light. Within a very limited palette of cool blues and that necessary glimmer of white, the book suggests a sense of both softness and stability in the moonlight’s nightly return.

From the July/August 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.