K-Gr 2—A grandmother who lives in the U.S. prepares to visit her grandson, who lives in Africa. While the moon is common to them both, she points out the many differences in their lives as she reminisces about past times together. When it is cold in one place, it is hot and dry in the other. There is ice-skating where she lives and lake swimming where he lives. Always, though, there is the moon, and as the story comes to a close, grandparent and grandchild are reunited under it. Collier's vibrant illustrations are a blend of watercolor and his trademark collage. This is a wonderful book to contrast different lifestyles. Pair it with Nigel Gray's A Country Far Away (Scholastic, 1989) to further illustrate cultural differences and human commonalities.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
A grandmother reminds her grandchild of times they have shared and describes the ways their lives are the same and different. She explains that both are looking at the same moon. Collier's handsome illustrations alternate between images of Africa and images of the United States. The text, soothing and sentimental, may have greatest appeal to grandparents missing their distant grandchildren.
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