Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Hello, Harvest Moon
Illustrator: Kate Kiesler
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Clarion, 2003 ISBN: 978-0618164516
All is still and waiting for something to happen on a night in early Fall. This is how it all begins on the night of the harvest moon. As it rises over the stalks of the corn a strange sort of "magic" begins to flood the landscape and touch all the plants, trees and animals. It also wakes up a little girl and her cat, who becomes one of the human witnesses to this wonderful golden moon. All sorts of incredible things seem to be happening in the light of this very special moon, all sorts of tiny miraculous events. "Milkweed pods have cracked open,/spilling out spores/like tiny moonlings/floating/up to their mother."
In beautiful prose Ralph Fletcher has managed to capture the sheer magical element that exists in the rise and fall of the harvest moon. By identifying both the tiny and the vast events that take place in its light, he shows us how truly awesome it is in its power and loveliness. Paired with Kate Kiesler's bold oil paintings, this is a striking, thoughtful and not least of all, emotive book.
