11.21.08
The Moon Shines Down
Less than a week after signing up, I received my first book to review for Thomas Nelson: The Moon Shines Down. The unfinished manuscript by Margaret Wise Brown, author of many children s classics, was recently discovered in a trunk in a Vermont attic, and was finished by Laura Minchew, a longtime fan of Brown.
The book is beautifully illustrated in bright colors and printed on high quality, heavy weight paper which should help it stand up to reading by children. The illustrations follow the flow of the text and one character, a koala, appears throughout the book.
I waited a few days after receiving the book, so I could read it with my 2½ year old grandson and see what he thought of it. On my first read, I found the rhythm of the poetry awkward. I didn’t notice that so much on a second read and not at all the third time through. My grandson liked the story on first read and was repeating lines when we read it again the next day.
Even though I felt the rhyme was sometimes uneven, it didn’t interfere with my grandson’s enjoyment of the story. The book is recommended for ages 3 – 8.