The Moon Shines Down is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about one of my son’s favorite things right now…the moon. Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon, is the main author of this book. The manuscript for this book was found 56 years after Brown had passed away. It was found decaying in an old trunk, incomplete. Laura Minchew, children’s book publisher, took on the task of finishing the story, matching Margaret Brown’s style.
Goodnight moon is one of my two year old son’s favorite books so I was excited to read this with him. Even though The Moon Shines Down is much longer, it captivated my son’s attention. The illustrations are beautiful. And I love the multicultural theme of the story, I appreciate how it expands my son’s horizons and helps him to realize that there is a bigger world out there than North America.
I think the biggest downfall of The Moon Shines Down is the inconsistency of the story topics and even the rhymes. For example, the story goes from addressing different countries at night to the far, far east during the day, it seems strange that every other place “visited” was nighttime except that one. Also, the author visits Christmas, which I find strange because it’s the only non-place. The wording is occasionally awkward as well with rhymes that don’t work…especially in the Mexico pages. I would be interested to see which words are from Margaret Wise Brown’s original manuscript.
My son loves the book and frequently asks for it and I enjoy reading it to him as well as the backstory…so all in all, it’s a hit.