The Moon King

Volume XXVI / Issue 37 - May 29 / 2020
The Moon King
The Moon King
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The Moon King

Author: 
Cara Kansala
St. John’s, NL: Breakwater, 2020
24 pp., paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 
9781550818185
Grades: 
Preschool-grade 1
Ages: 
Ages 3-6
Review by: 
Aileen Wortley
3
Excerpt: 

And all the birds in all the land,

they each plucked out a star

and flew them back up to the night

where dreams and wishes are.

“Thank you,” said the Moon King,

and the wind whispered in his words,

and the stars went back to sparkling,

and they twinkled at the birds.

And so the wild things all settled down

to cuddle in their nests.

The bear and moose, the fox and wolves

all closed their eyes to rest.

This bedtime story for young children aged between three and six reveals a rather whimsical goat-like moon-king happily dancing. As he does so, he trips over the night spilling its darkness and its stars across the world below. The stars fall into every nook and cranny of the earth. Contrite and anxious to compensate for this error, the moon-king calls upon all varieties of sleepy animals to help him restore the stars to their rightful place in the sky.

Written entirely in a nicely paced verse, this fable, with its dreamy atmosphere, encourages children to understand nighttime as something to be welcomed rather than to be afraid of. The gentle sleepy tone of the verse is a sharp contrast to the vigorous exuberant brightly colored, acrylic paintings against a dark nighttime background. Some illustrations are particularly attractive, especially those that reveal flocks of brightly colored birds returning their shining stars back to their home.

The magical and imaginative elements and colorful art make The Moon King a pleasant and calming bedtime read for both parents and their children.

Recommended
Reviewer: 

Aileen Wortley is a retired Children’s Librarian from Toronto, Ontario.