Moonlight: The Halloween Cat

Author: Cynthia Rylant

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 0060297123

As I was searching through the picture book shelves of the New Dorp NYPL branch, Moonlight: The Halloween Cat immediately caught my eye. If you know me well, you know that I'm absolutely in love with my adopted little black cat, and that Halloween is my absolute most favorite day out of the year.

I'm a big fan of Newberry Award winner Cynthia Rylant, so I was suprised that I had not come across this book before my trip to the library.

The target audience for Moonlight is pre-k to grade two (although in my opinion, I probably wouldn't assign this book to students past the first grade). Rylant writes, "Moonlight loves the night. It is her favorite time ..." Moonlight is the story of a little black cat's journey throughout her town on Halloween night. She enjoys Halloween night the most, because she likes the way the jack-o-lanterns smile at her and snuggling in the lap of a friendly scarecrow. Moonlight also loves following the neighborhood children who cannot see her because she is "black, like the night" (children can be introduced to simile here).

The text in this book consists of simple prose comprised of one and two syllable lyrical words that would be ideal for a beginner reader. There are also many different animals in this book, introducing children to images of owls, bunny rabbits, raccoons and dogs.

The illustration in Moonlight is incredibly vibrant. The paintings are warm with blue and green hues dominating each page. The pumpkins are luscious, lifelike shades of orange and yellow that create a warm glow on each page. My favorite illustration is a closeup of Moonlight's back as she sits on a tree branch staring at a huge, bright yellow moon. The town glows with stars shining up above.

Children love Halloween. Moonlight is a great Halloween picture book for children because it isn't filled with typical scary stuff (ghosts, goblins, monsters, etc.) Instead, it is a gentle story filled with wonderful prose and beautiful imagery.

Jazz

Author: Walter Dean Myers
Illustrator: Christopher Myers
Publisher: Holiday House
ISBN: 978-0823415458

As a musician, naturally, I am drawn to all things musical. It is no surprise that Jazz caught my eye back in 2006 when it was first published. In 2007, Jazz received a Coretta Scott King honor for illustration.

Jazz is a complicated creature. As Myers explains in the book's introduction, jazz is a fine mixture of "improvisation and spontaneity." I have been a singer of jazz (specifically bebop) for years now, but I did not take my first formal jazz course until my junior year of college. Jazz's introduction (which, because of the vocabulary, is much more suited for the adult reader than child), Myer's sums up my formal jazz education in a lengthy two page history of jazz.

Jazz consists of fifteen poems ranging from the African origins of jazz to bebop, swing and New Orleans Jazz. The poetry is catchy and rhythmic, and I can hear the music in my head as I am reading along. This is especially true with the bluesy poem "Oh, Miss Kitty" which beings with the lines. "Oh, Miss Kitty she's as round as she is tall, I said oh, Miss Kitty, she's as round as she is tall."

I'll be honest, I am much more captivated by Christopher's Myers' intense illustration than WDM's poetry. The pictures are alive with bright and intoxicating colors. My favorite, beside the poem "Twenty Finger Jack" is a striking painting of a man in with red pinstripes, playing stride piano, grazing a keyboard with his long fingers.

Jazz offers a glossary of jazz terms as well as a brief jazz timeline towards the end of the book. This poetry picture book is an excellent introduction to jazz for kids of any age!