Day 214: Long Night Moon

Cynthia Rylant has long been one of my favorite children's authors.  Her work never ceases to amaze me, mostly because it always feels so personal in a way I have trouble describing.  So touching.  So real.  I routinely look for her books when we are at our various local libraries, and was thrilled to bring this one home the other week.  I had never seen this book before, but was instantly drawn to its cover illustration.  As I opened it up and read the description on the jacket cover, I just knew I would love it.

Have you ever stopped to consider what might be revealed in one spot over one year by twelve unique and exquisite full moons?

My kids and I love observing the moon, especially on clear, summer nights.  As the moon followed us home from New Hampshire last week, my son barraged us with questions.  Why can we sometimes see the moon and sometimes we can't?  Why do we sometimes see just part of the moon and other times we can see all of it?  If the moon is made of rock, why does it glow?  There's a lot to be learned about the magical moon, and I love the way this book encourages children to enjoy and appreciate the light of night in a new and different way.

Long Night Moon is the type of book that I love a little more each time I read it.  At first glance, I was captivated by the artwork.  If you've ever tried to paint or draw moonlight, you know how difficult it is.  Mark Siegel's illustrations capture the feel and presence of moonlight magnificently.

A second reading found us exploring the meaning behind the names of the moons each month.  As Rylant explains at the outset, "Native Americans gave names to the full moons they watched throughout the year.  Each month had a moon.  And each moon had its name..." While the monthly names in this story aren't all the same as others that I've researched, I love the way each one captures the essence of the season and gets us thinking about the changes in nature at the time.  "In March a Sap Moon rises over melting ponds, sleepy bears, small green trees.  It tells a promise and a hope... In July the Thunder Moon trembles, shudders, and disappears in a thick black sky.  It listens to the clouds beat their drums."  The book is more poetry than story, but combined with Siegel's artwork, it tells a beautiful story.  Its pace is calming and slow, making it especially lovely to read at bedtime, but it's well worth a read at any time of day.

Be sure to read the note from the illustrator at the end of the book, too.  In it, Siegel describes how he took many long, moonlit walks to help inspire his art and find the perfect medium for this book. "In my busy, crowded life, I'd never given so much attention to moonlight:  What is it like?  How does it feel? What makes it so special?"  He also explains how Rylant "captured not just one, but many moods of night" throughout the book, and that these "distinct atmospheres seemed best explored in one continuous 360-degree panorama over the course of a year."  This artistic technique can only really be noticed if you slow down and pause before turning the page, allowing time to soak in the whole scene before moving on.  Reading this background made the book all the more impressive for me.  I'll include my favorite part below, for it paints a far better picture of the wonder of this story than I ever could.

"I realize now how tempting it is to think that nature closes up shop after sunset, but this isn't so.  When the sun goes down, nature doesn't disappear.  She shows us another face, one that is just as complex and astonishing as the face she wears during the day.  When we are young children, night sometimes has a forbidding, or even forbidden quality -- it is, after all, time for bed.  But its attraction is no less powerful.  May the words and images of Long Night Moon offer a safe invitation to savor the night and celebrate its otherwise hidden wonders." ~M.S.

Day 104: The Old Woman Who Named Things

Given our love of the Henry and Mudge series, we have taken to reading some of Cynthia Rylant's other fabulous children's books.  She is such a talented author and is a master of telling stories that are loved and appreciated by children and parents on different levels for different reasons.  The Old Woman Who Named Things is a beautiful story about love, friendship, aging, and the fear of loss.  Once there was an old woman who loved to name things.  She had outlived all of her friends and worried about this, for she didn't want to become lonely without any friends she could call by name.  So, she named things around her; but only those things she knew should she could never outlive. "She named the old car she drove "Betsy."  She names the old chair she sat in "Fred."  She names the old bed she slept on "Roxanne."  And she named her old house "Franklin."... The old woman never worried about outliving any of them, and her days were happy."  One day, the old woman finds a shy brown puppy at her gate.  He looks hungry, so the old woman feeds him some ham and sends him on his way.  Every day, the puppy returns to her gate, happily wagging his tail, and every day, the old woman feeds him and tells him to go home.  It is not long, of course, before the woman starts thinking of letting the puppy stay, but he can't.  She doesn't want to risk outliving any more friends.  When the dog fails to show up at her gate one day, the woman sets off to find him, and in the process finds herself facing the classic challenge of risking loss in order to love and be happy.  It should come as no surprise that this is another wonderful story that makes me tear up every time I read it.  My son, being only 3, loves this story at face value.  He thinks it is so silly that the woman names everything from her bed to her car, and he loves the adorable puppy.  On some level, I think children can appreciate this as a book about friendship, but for adults, of course, the meaning and message of the story is far deeper, making this one of those rare books that is perfect for people of all ages.  This would also be a great book for anyone looking to address those tricky topics of aging and dying with children.  Oh, and did I mention that the illustrations are just as wonderful as the story itself?  The Old Woman Who Named Things is a lovely read that reminds us of the universal importance of taking chances on love, loss and friendship in order to find true happiness. 

Day 80: Henry and Mudge in the Green Time

One of our earliests posts (Day 3) was about the beloved boy and dog duo of Henry and Mudge, who have long been regular favorites in our household.  We are fond of Cynthia Rylant's books, in general, but Henry and Mudge will forever hold a very special place in our hearts.  I just love these stories about the big drooly dog and his best friend, Henry.  Sucie Stevenson's illustrations are wonderfully charming, and I love the way Rylant describes the things Mudge does and the love Henry's family has for one another.  There are 28 books in the series, and I think we've read just about all of them at one time or another.  Henry and Mudge in the Green Time is definitely among my favorites.   It takes place in the summer, and the three chapter stories are "The Picnic," in which Henry gets stung by a bee, "The Bath," in which Mudge endures a much-hated bath, and "The Green Time," my favorite of the three.   I think I love the Green Time so much because it captures the wonderful imagination of Henry, an only child, and the bliss and innocence of childhood.  Henry and Mudge spend lots of time on the green hill near their house, Henry pretending to be a king and Mudge, his dragon.  "The met monsters.  Mudge ate them.  They marched and marched till they could march no more.  Then they found a magic tree on the green hill.  It was a tree for kings and dragons who were tired.  Henry and Mudge sat down under the tree.  Henry put his arms around Mudge.  They were glad for a magic tree.  They closed their eyes.  And a boy and his dog slept, together, on the green hill in their green time."   Just wonderful, isn't it?  Henry and Mudge can usually be found in the early reader section of your library.  No need to wait until your child can actually read, though, before checking out this fabulous series.  These books are wonderful additions to any preschoolers library.  Be warned, though:  this series is addictive!  Don't be surprised if your little one asks to bring home the library's entire collection all at once.

Day 3: Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea

Cynthia Rylant's wonderful collection of stories about a little boy and his beloved, huggable, 180 pound dog, Mudge, are on heavy rotation at our house right now.  In fact, my son loves them so much, it was all I could do to convince him that we couldn't check out all 28 of them from the library this week.  (We settled on four.)  He also loves to pretend to be Mudge on a regular basis, which I find ridiculously cute.  We must read at least three different Henry and Mudge books a day, but we are particularly fond of the Forever Sea at the moment.  I think this is because, like me, my son can't wait to be able to go to the beach this summer.  (We've been dreaming about it all winter long.)  The Henry and Mudge books are part of the "Ready to Read" series so are presumably aimed at a slightly older age group, but I think they are just perfect for three year olds, too.  They have been around for a while -- The First Book was published in 1987 -- and I remember reading them with my brothers when they were little.  (And now, we are lucky to have all of their old books.  Thanks, Mom!)  If you've ever owned a dog, especially a big one that drools a lot and takes up too much room on the couch, you'll instantly love Mudge.  I often laugh and smile to myself as I read about the things he does, as they bring back so many happy memories of my childhood dog.  If you haven't discovered Henry and Mudge yet, I encourage you to go check them out.  There are many adventures to choose from, and no doubt other titles from the series will make our list further down the line.