Young Cosmo lives at 29 Luna Lane, wears moon pajamas, has a moon nightlight, and sleeps in a bedroom adorned with moons and stars. In the fanciful new picture book, Cosmo’s Moon, the moon turns out to be the boy’s best friend. In fact, Cosmo tells the moon everything, and the planet always listens. Lately, the moon has even been following him around. Eventually, the boy’s father notices, saying, “Where in the world is the sun? The moon seems to be out at the oddest times lately.” Others notice too, and soon three zany but official-looking astronomers arrive on Cosmo’s doorstep, hoping he can somehow remedy the strange situation. Because the moon is now out all the time, the ocean’s tides are confused, the morning glories never bloom, and dogs howl constantly. Cosmo announces that he’ll simply talk to the moon. The astronomers laugh at his plan, but it works. The moon says that he likes Cosmo because he is a good, kind boy. He follows Cosmo everywhere because he wants him to be happy all the time. But the pair wisely decide that constant companionship may not be the best solution, and that “never saying goodbye means you never get to say hello.” The moon faithfully promises to wait for Cosmo every night, thus returning the tides, flowers and howling dogs to normal. Devin Scillian (also the author of A Is for America) has not only written a sweet story, he has written a tale that’s perfect for anyone needing to teach a young child about the sadness of departures and the joy of returns. Mark Braught’s illustrations bring the moon to life as a benevolent, smiling being. His combination of color illustrations and black-and-white drawings works well with the book’s themes of day and night. Truly an imaginative tale, Cosmo’s Moon is perfect for bedtime and likely to be cherished (and even believed) by many young moon-gazers. Alice Cary writes from Groton, Massachusetts.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
