Day 36: I Took the Moon for a Walk

We first heard of this wonderful book from a follower of the blog, Jennifer Braga.  Thanks for the great recommendation, Jennifer!  As we do when friends suggest a good book, we added this story to our library list and brought it home the other week.  It has been a favorite bedtime story for the past few days in particular, as we've been watching the moon get fuller and brighter out my son's window each night.  (We just love a brilliant full moon!)  Alison Jay's illustrations match Carolyn Curtis' soft, gentle rhymes well, and the whole story has a very relaxing and soothing feel to it, making it perfect bedtime reading.  "I took the moon for a walk last night.  It followed behind like a still summer kite.  Though there wasn't a string or a tail in sight when I took the moon for a walk."  The moon follows the boy throughout his evening walk, "just like Harold and the Purple Crayon," as my son likes to point out.  Of course, every time we get to the end of the story and read the last line, my son also says, "he didn't really take the moon for a walk."  Despite taking it a bit too literally and needing me to explain the metaphor, he loves this book anyway!  We especially love reading the bonus pages at the end, "The Mysterious Moon" and "The World at Night," that tell about the moon's phases and cultural significance, nocturnal plants and animals, and even dreams.  I just love books that are informative in that way!  My son always asks to read those parts, and was trying to memorize the phases of the moon last night as he pointed at the pictures:  "new moon, crescent moon, half moon, gibbous moon, and full moon!"  If you can, take a few minutes to gaze at the moon with your little one tonight before snuggling up under the covers.  The next full moon will be on May 17th -- hopefully you can track down a copy of this delightful story by then.  Sweet dreams, everyone!