A handsome introduction to the Chinese Moon Festival’s origins and celebrations.
A family shares the story of the Moon Goddess.
On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a youngster named Meifung—apparently of Chinese descent—sees the shape of a rabbit in the moon and asks Mama to tell the story of Chang’e. Mama’s told the tale hundreds of times before, but she happily obliges, describing how, long ago, when 10 suns blazed in the sky, a beautiful woman named Chang’e and an archer called Houyi fell in love. When Chang’e lamented the scorching heat, Houyi used his magical arrows to shoot down nine of the suns. The Earth was now a perfect temperature, and the Queen Mother of the West rewarded Houyi with a potion for long life. Unwilling to live forever without his beloved, Houyi hid the potion away, but one day, the curious Chang’e found it and, not knowing what would happen, drank it. She rose up into the sky until she was one with the moon. Gazing up, Houyi often saw his wife chasing a rabbit; people today say that the rabbit and Chang’e “became one and the same.” They call her the Moon Goddess, blessing everyone from above. With this serenely told story complete, the modern-day family heads out to celebrate the holiday with lanterns that float up into the sky. Chuang’s accompanying artwork is a colorful blend of traditional Chinese and modern styles, depicting lush and magical scenes befitting the grand legend.
A handsome introduction to the Chinese Moon Festival’s origins and celebrations. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781536238914
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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