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.
I have never seen this book either. When I saw the cover, I immediately thought of my four year old son. He would love this book because of the vibrant colors and lyrical text, as you said. He is a lover of Ed Emberley books, like "Go Away Big Green Monster" and "There Was An Old Monster!" Emberley books also have very bright and vibrant colors, and he loves the use of black, which is not common, and my son loves it. Thanks for the post, I will be sure to pick this one up for him.
ReplyDeleteAnything by Cynthia Rylant is pretty awesome in my opinion. She is a wonderful author. I like that you provide background for why you choose the books that you do (your black cat that you love and that Halloween is a favorite holiday). It is so necessary to have connections with a book, right? I like the fact that you mentioned this books applications to teaching about language (simile). Also the fact that this book would activate multiple schema (animal, holiday, scary stuff schema, etc.) I don't know this book, but I will definitely check it out based on your beautiful description.
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