MOON SONG

Two young Indigenous cousins share a magical, moonlit adventure in this wintry bedtime story that celebrates Tlingit culture and light found on the darkest of nights.

After the children scout for deer by “a rosy dawn,” fish for salmon “by a radiant sunset,” and clam “beneath a twinkling sky,” the day ends as generations “gather by the hearth in the warm glow of home.” At bedtime, one of the children, nervous about the dark, asks for a story, and the other—the book’s narrator—launches into a cozy and vivid tale, set in a snow-blanketed forest. Concise, descriptive language tracks the cousins’ imaginary jaunt through dark woods as Moon sings to them: “Slip under spruce, slink past cedar, delve deep into a velvety hush.” Watercolor and mixed-media illustrations in luxuriant jewel tones depict gently sweeping, dreamy scenes dotted with wildlife and illuminated by moonlight sparkling between thick trees, with the northern lights dancing overhead. Refrains of “Come! Haagú!” draw them onward, and “Daa sáyú? What could it be?” invites readers to pause and wonder alongside the curious nighttime explorers before the story of Moon’s song brings them peacefully home. Caldecott Medalist Goade reverentially shares elements of her Tlingit heritage through joyful language and symbolism-rich imagery.

A soothing and appreciative ode to family, the moon, and winter’s welcoming embrace.