Shine Moon Shine by David Conway

Shine Moon Shine by David Conway
Buy Shine Moon Shine by David Conway at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: An inspirational story about how the moon was persuaded to return to the night sky with wonderful illustration which will delight any child from 3 to 103! Highly recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: September 2008
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0340930847
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ONE SNOWY NIGHT IN A GREAT BIG CITY the moon fell from the sky and landed on top of a very tall building. All the people in the neighbourhood tried to put the moon back into the night sky, but every time they tried the moon fell again.

And so starts one of those books that, even before you open it, you know is going to be an absolute gem. Stroke the cover and feel the rough and the smooth of the moon and see the colours of the night sky - not black, but blues, purples and greens all blending into one another.

When the moon fell from the sky and came to rest on the tall building, a young boy called Ata sat with the moon to keep it company and a friendship developed. The moon told Ata why it didn't want to return to the night sky.

It's so dark up there, the moon told Ata. It makes me feel so lonely.

So begins Ata's quest to find ways of improving the night sky for his new friend. He captured sunbeams in a bucket, but they melted away as quickly as they came. He tried to use old torches to light the sky, but slowly they waned and grew dimmer. When he tried to push holes in the night sky to let the daylight in, the holes slowly closed until the sky was dark again. Sad that he can do nothing to help his friend Ata sits in the snow and it's this that provides the solution to the moon's problem. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it's a beautiful solution that will delight any child (and all the adults who have had a peak at the book over my shoulder!)

I've read this book several times now and each time it's left that same warm glow behind. It's a simple, inspirational story, well told and beautifully illustrated. The moon ceases to be cold and distant and becomes vulnerable, the night sky less threatening. Most of all though it shows that one small boy, in having the courage to try, can achieve something wonderful.

The book is intended for the three to five year old age group, but I'd think that anyone with a soul would love it, whatever their age. The vocabulary is perfectly pitched with sufficient words with which the child will be familiar to allow the more difficult words to be easily assimilated. The moon, you know, is pale and pensive.

Words are nothing without the pictures for this age group and the illustrations are stupendous. Dubravka Kolanovic has excelled herself with her magical pictures in muted tones which so perfectly capture the night sky and the efforts of one small boy to help his new friend. There's simplicity with quirky detail - the giraffe appearing on television, the rather odd sign on top of a car. Every time that you look through it you'll see something new.

It's just a wonderful, wonderful book.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending this book to The Bookbag.

For another wonderful book with an inspirational message you might like to try Julia Donaldson's Tyrannosaurus Drip, or Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are.

Shine Moon Shine by David Conway is in the Top Ten Picture Books of 2008.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Shine Moon Shine by David Conway at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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