Review: The Moon's Almost Here

 
Working his usual magic, dePaola illustrates this gentle good-night story with the characters Pierrot and his redheaded child. Waiting for the moon to rise, the two walk through the meadow towards home. They observe robins returning to the nest for bedtime and a mama sheep hurrying her lambs home as the sun goes away. Simple rhyming text tells the story: “The moon’s almost here. / Mama duck drifts to shore. / Ducklings swim after: / One, two, three, four.” As father and child return home, fireflies appear, and the pair, along with their dog and kitten, welcome the white moon: “So big / and so bright.”

The gorgeous palette, with enchanting double-spread illustrations, shows the daytime colors of blue sky as they morph slowly from light aqua to a deep cerulean tinged with pink clouds as the sun disappears. Finally, against a deep indigo background, the huge moon is overwhelmingly beautiful, occupying the whole page. This enchanting bedtime tale is sure to lead sleepyheads to dreamland