Hello, Harvest Moon
 Hardcover first edition | |
| Author | Ralph Fletcher |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Kate Kiesler |
| Genre | Children's |
| Publisher | Clarion Books |
Publication date | September 22, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 32 |
| ISBN | 978-0-618-16451-6 |
| OCLC | 50851814 |
| [E] 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.F632115 He 2003 |
Hello, Harvest Moon is a children's book written by Ralph Fletcher and illustrated by Kate Kiesler. It was first published in 2003 by Clarion Books.
Plot summary[edit]
The Moon rises and shines through a girl's bedroom window. It then shines on a silent street, corn and wheat fields, and autumn trees. A young girl and her cat play a game by its light, a pilot flies a plane using its light. The Moon sets in the daylight as the young girl and her cat say goodnight.
Reception[edit]
Shawn Brommer in his review for School Library Journal said "Fletcher's poetic prose makes use of gentle tempo and internal rhyme. Imaginative metaphors add to the text; as the Moon sets, it sprinkles "silver coins like a careless millionaire." Careful use of second-person narrative draws readers into the text. Kiesler's luminous oil paintings portray the luscious Moon glow, and a refrained use of brush stroke captures the mystery of nighttime when the familiar world becomes exotic, dazzling, and alive with nocturnal life. Warm hues evoke homey, autumn scenes."[1] Terry Day in her review for Library Media Connection described it as a beautifully written and illustrated book.[2] Publishers Weekly said that "Fletcher's lyrical, child-friendly images will linger in readers' minds. With a gentle nod to Margaret Wise Brown, the child's morning is the moon's setting Ca sleepy head winking/ falling/slow motion/ onto its pillow"), and the book ends appropriately with the girl bidding, "Good night, harvest moon.""[3] Kirkus Reviews said "Fletcher tracks that moon's nocturnal path in language rich in metaphor: "With silent slippers / it climbs the night stairs," "staining earth and sky with a ghostly glow," lighting up a child's bedroom, the wings of a small plane, moonflowers, and, ranging further afield, harbor waves and the shells of turtle hatchlings on a beach. Using creamy brushwork and subtly muted colors, Kiesler depicts each landscape, each night creature from Luna moths to a sleepless child and her cat, as well as the great moon sweeping across star-flecked skies, from varied but never vertiginous angles."[4]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Brommer, Shawn (September 2003). "Hello, Harvest Moon (Book)". School Library Journal. 49 (9): 178. ISSN 0362-8930. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
- ^ Day, Terry (January 2004). "Hello,Harvest Moon (Book)". Library Media Connection. 22 (4): 57. ISSN 1542-4715.
- ^ "HELLO, HARVEST MOON (Book)". Publishers Weekly. 250 (37): 63–64. September 15, 2003. ISSN 0000-0019.
- ^ "HELLO, HARVEST MOON (Book)". Kirkus Reviews. 71 (18): 1174. September 15, 2003. ISSN 0042-6598.
