Moonlight

"Something is on the move," writes Savage (And Then Came Hope) in an opening line that lures readers through a series of linocut settings. Rendered in a limited palette of cool hues--from teal to deepest navy--with accents of gleaming white, the world is composed of alluring and allusive shadows, shapes, and textures: a dense rainforest, a tropical seashore, the deck of a ship, a bank of clouds, an alpine landscape, a train depot, and, finally, an urban neighborhood. As the pages turn, readers mull over what is it that "streaks through the forest then slips--// tumbling over/ a waterfall, swirling/ down a river," and "hides behind/ a cloud, // then catches a passing plane." An intimate final scene in a child's bedroom reveals the answer, though the book's title is certainly a tip-off. With the six-sentence text providing an almost incantatory counterpoint to the pictures' clean, geometric lines, and bold, flat colors, this is a lovely bedtime meditation on themes of universality, a shared planet, and quiet wonder. Ages 4-8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Aug.)

"This gentle berceuse initially teases with soothing prose and intriguing visual misdirection. . . . Linocuts in blues, teals, and greens merge the Earth, sea, and sky into a dreamy continuum. . . . Sleep-resistant listeners may want to talk about places where the moonlight shines at that very minute, but a reprise of Savage's lyrical text should do the lulling trick." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books