HICKORY RIDGE READER: When the moon hits your eye

By WILMA SNYDER/Correspondent

Greetings from Hickory Ridge. When I was a kid, I was convinced that the Easter Bunny lived in the moon. I saw him in profile, pushing a basket mounted on wheels. The basket was filled with Easter eggs and candy. Where that idea came from I have no idea, but when I look at a full moon, I can see the Easter Bunny clearly.
Now I find that in Japan people see in the moon a rabbit making rice cakes. In fact, on a night in fall when the moon is full, the Japanese have a Moon Festival. Stores are full of sweets, figurines and artwork with rabbit and moon designs. Family and community gatherings feature poetry, music, rice cakes, round white dumplings and autumn plants.
“Bunny Lune” is a delightful fantasy about a rabbit who loves everything about the moon and dreams of traveling there. When he receives a letter from his friend in Japan describing the Moon Festival, the bunny becomes determined to earn enough money to go to the moon. He is discouraged when the travel agent tells him the trip will cost $1 billion. However, Bunny Lune discovers that the world of imagination has no boundaries or price tags.
“Catching the Moon” is based on the idea that the moon controls the tides. An old woman fishes at night, hoping to catch the moon and convince him to hold back the destructive high tide. The poetic, lyrical text and the atmospheric illustrations stir the imagination.
The story of the Man in the Moon and his little pet Moon Dog is told in “Little Moon Dog.” The little dog’s quest for adventure lures him into a dangerous situation. He learns great lessons about friendship and home.
“At Night” is a great story for the child who has trouble going to sleep at night. Sometimes it is good to get away from the usual sounds of the night and escape into the world of private thoughts and imaginings. The pictures extend the story and offer reassurance for nighttime anxieties.
Cat thinks the moon is a saucer of milk. Dog thinks it’s a pat of sweet butter. Butterfly thinks it is made of sweet, sticky sugar. Each is convinced he is right. Can the moon be made of all these things – and more? “The Moon Might Be Milk” is an innovative picture book which leads the reader down a new path.
Each of these fanciful books offers beautiful art and original stories. Good reading.
“Bunny Lune.” Kae Nishimura. Clarion. 2007.
“Catching the Moon.” Myla Goldberg. Pictures by Chris Sheban. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. 2007.
“Little Moon Dog.” Helen Ward. Illustrated by Wayne Anderson. Dutton/Penguin. 2007.
“At Night.” Jonathan Bean. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. 2007.
“The Moon Might Be Milk.” Lisa Shulman. Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. Dutton/Penguin. 2007.