A Beautiful Children's Book

The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you are looking for a Christmas present for a young child, this may be the book for you. Once upon a time, Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnite Moon started this book, which is based on the childhood rhyme "I see the Moon, And the Moon sees me. God Bless the Moon and God bless me". She didn't finish it, and the manuscript was recently found tucked in a trunk. Laura Minchew continued the story, writing in the same style as Brown. We see the moon shining down on children from Holland, Switzerland, the Far East, Mexico, France, Australia, England, Africa, an American city at Christmas and under the ocean. Each of these places is given two two-page spreads, and the second of those always included "I see the Moon and the Moon sees Me" or "God bless the Moon and God bless me" or both. For example, the spread on Mexico says:

I see the Moon
And the Moon sees me,
And the Moon sees the kids in Mexico.
God bless the Moon
And God bless me,
And God bless the Toucan with her funny nose.

The illustrations, drawn by Linda Bleck, remind you of Goodnite Moon without being clones of them. Each spread includes a large yellow moon. There is a bear (maybe a koala?) which is in every scene, along with drawings of the country he is visiting. The children shown in the drawings are wearing ethnic clothes and you can often find a child tucked in bed somewhere in the drawing.

This is a beautiful book and I'm sure my little one is going to like it.

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