The Moon Is a Silver Pond, The Sun Is a Peach: A Flippable Book

PreS-Gr 2–In two separate stories printed back-to-back and inverted, the moon and the sun are compared to a variety of objects, and at the end of each (which is the middle of the physical book), readers are invited to answer the question, “What is the Moon [or Sun] to you?” In The Moon Is A Silver Pond, a series of metaphors is illustrated in cool blues and warm yellows. The moon is compared to a pail of milk, a sleeping snail, a lost button, and more; the moon itself only appears in the first and final illustrations, though moonlight illuminates other spreads. In the warm-toned The Sun Is A Peach, the sun—which appears in several pictures—is likewise compared to daily objects: a sleeping cat, a dandelion, “shimmering cymbals.” All human characters are fair-skinned except for one (in Moon, no one’s whole face is showing, whereas in Sun several faces are). Illustrations in pastels, watercolors, cut paper, pencils, and digital collage are rich and textured without being busy. Spare prose encourages lingering over the art, and observant readers may discover additional metaphors. Some comparisons are more of a stretch than others, but this could prompt good dialogue between reader and audience.