moonlight

by Helen V. Griffith, Laura Dronzek (Illustrator)

Rabbit waits for the moon.
But the moon takes its time,
so Rabbit hops back to his burrow and goes to sleep.
What happens in the world when Rabbit isn't looking?
Well . . . magic.
And moonlight. . . .
The goats on the mountainside see it.
The deer, birds, and raccoons see it.
Even the fish see it.
And finally, happily,
Rabbit does, too.
Do you?

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Rabbits, Nature, Poetry

Hardcover

First published January 24, 2012

About the author

In Her Own Words...

"What I like about writing books is that I can sit and think about things that most adults never think about, and it's okay because I'm a children's book writer.

I can imagine what my dog is dreaming about or what she and my cat discuss when I'm not around. I can design a time machine or make up a tall tale, and nobody says, "Grow up, Helen"--because I'm a children's book writer.

I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and I work in the family business. We're distributors of roofing and siding materials, and I've never yet gotten a story inspiration from that. Most of my ideas seem to come from dogs I have known.

My grandfather was part of our family and used to read to me a lot-the Sunday funny papers, turn-of-the-century primers, and The Arabian Nights. When I could read for myself, I read fairy tales, dog and horse stories, and comic books by the dozen.

I started writing poems and the beginnings of novels by the age of seven or eight, but I was forty before I thought about writing for publication.

For fun, I like reading (especially Anthony Trollope) and birdwatching, and I've just started learning to play old-time fiddle!"

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never before have I seen a full-length simile of moonlight as butter. Now I can say that I have. I'm not quite sure what to think of this one. Part of me loves the dark illustrations and drawn-out metaphor, but part of me keeps seeing butter coating everything...which makes me think I need to go workout.

As I always say when I'm not sure about a book--let the kids decide!

Until then, I dub this one...Most Buttery Book of the Year!*

*Note: the Most Buttery Book of the Year Award in no way affects Daniel Krauss's Rotters taking the cake for Muddiest Book of the Year! Completely unrelated awards.

[Della · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Gogh meets Peter Rabbit.

[Krista Lineweaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The picturebook, Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith, is meant to be read to or by children ages 0-5. This age group is considered the nursery age group, parents could read this book to children as a bedtime story. It has a poetic sound to it as it is being read. This story is about a rabbit that tries waiting up for the moon to come out but goes into his burrow too soon. The moon finally fills the sky with a bright light that fills his dreams with light and color. He wakes up and comes out of his burrow, dancing in the field. It is a cute story that young children would enjoy very much. I rated this book the way I did because the author did a great job including metaphors into the book that could be understood and the illustrations complimented the story very well. Children's eyes will be drawn to the illustrations that cover the pages of the story. This book could be used to teach about metaphors because the author says that the light from the moon is so bright and uses the examples of yellow butter to make a metaphor. This story can also be used as a bedtime story that will let children have sweet dreams.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the poem, in which the moonlight is like butter--the metaphor extends as the butter melts and slides across the meadow. Will it reach little bunny so he can finally see the moon?

The illustrations are interesting, not perhaps my favorite style, but I found them suitable here and enjoyed them. I think some children will enjoy this, but some might not totally get or appreciate the whole "butter" thing. The metaphor mostly worked for me, but in some cases I was just too much a vegan and too much an adult trying not to clog my arteries to totally love the idea of butter coating everything, LOL!

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at Baby/Toddler Lap Time on 6/22/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at "On the Road" story time on 7/12/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at "On the Road" story time on 7/25/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at preschool story time at Redland Baptist church on 5/3/17: https://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com...

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art, rhyme that works, but WHAT IS WITH THE BUTTER SIMILE? Does this author work for Paula Deen? The Dairy Council? Weird!!
(And I wager that there was NO comment on this in the book reviews that I read, BTW....)

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little poem about a rabbit waiting for the moon to come out, with lovely descriptions of the moonlight when it does. So sweet! Love the simple, colorful illustrations.
My pre-K storytime group would love this. Really must use it sometime!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The moonlight is likened to butter, and each page brings a new object to coat in said substance. The illustrations were not my favorite, and the concept of moonlight being like butter grossed me out for some reason.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! You could pull out any of the pages and frame them. It's also perfect for this years Summer Reading Theme...Yipee!!!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

GORGEOUS. Love the butter/sunlight/moonlight simile.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too many references to butter... but I love the illustrations. And the bunny.

[Sarah Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect, sparce text poetry. The language is simple but evocative. Children will love how the moon slides, skims, skitters, and butters (I love that) bunny's world. Yay for poetry.

[Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful poem about how the moonlight spreads like butter across the landscape. (And here we thought the moon was made of cheese.) A short simple read with lovely illustrations. A good story time choice for very young readers.

[She Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really magical feeling book, perfectly mixes a hushed feeling of calm with the excitement of venturing out into the dreamy night. Very sweet and the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Exactly the sort of book I would buy to give as a present.

[Natalie Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable and it is about Rabbit who waits for the moonlight, yet impatiently slips into his burrow where the moonlight eventually finds him. The illustrations and figurative language is amazing.

[Annie Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The butter thing is kinda weird.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book talks about butter so much it makes me hungry.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little book, would recommend for fans of Kevin Henkes. A quick bedtime story option.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Cute bunny. I asked the toddlers I read it to what each animal was to keep it interactive.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Moonlight” by Griffith & Dronzek
Imagine the moonlight makes everything look covered in butter
.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 3 stars
Art 4 stars

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations with dark background and the "glow" of the moon on each page.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of this book are the illustrations. I just don’t see moonlight as butter. Moonlight is softness and magical.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbit waits for the moon to appear out of the cloudy skies, but leaves a bit too soon to see the moon emerge. The moon shines its buttery light into space and onto the earth. It covers the mountains, the trees, enters the water, and even enters Rabbit’s burrow, making his dreams fill with the light. He wakes up, leaves his burrow and dances in the field with the butter of the moon on his head.

Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bunny wants to stay up to see the moon but can't quite stay awake so he hops off to bed. When the moon finally appears, it makes sure bunny does not miss out on the buttery moonlight fun. This is a lilting, poetic picture book that would be a good quiet time read for toddlers and preschoolers. Lots that you could do with this as a jumping off point for other activities. What is real butter? When does the moon look like butter? You could pair it with "It Looked Like Spilled Milk" or talk about clouds looking like marshmallows. Think outside the butter dish with this one!

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for the moon takes too long so Rabbit returns to his burrow. While he sleeps, the moon comes out and shines on everything--even Rabbit in his burrow.

What I thought: A lovely story with gorgeous illustrations. I can't wait to use Moonlight for story time during the summer reading program. My favorite illustrations are stars and comets, raccoons, and Rabbit dancing.

Story Time Themes: night, moon

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beginning to grow on me, now that I have read it to my son at bedtime 4 or 5 times. At first, I wasn't terribly impressed, but the more I see the illustrations, the more I am enjoying the subtlety of the lighting, and I am beginning to like it more and more. I think this book could even be considered a long shot possible for a Caldecott Honor, even though I haven't heard much buzz about it. Cute book, and a fun bedtime read, and very nice illustrations.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book, with its lyrical pictures and supporting text. Moonlight pours over the landscape, full of engaging (not to say cute) animals. (Ok the butter analogy is spread quite thickly, but it goes with pictures.)
Mind you, my five-year-old boy refused to let me read it to him.
Would be good for the 4 and under set, and probably for kindergarten-first graders who weren't in the throes of 'coolness' :)

[Great Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the dreamy quality of impressionist art, the book follows a small brown rabbit who hops off to bed just a moment too soon to see the moonlight bathe every part of the landscape in butter. Pictures and text meld together to paint a soft and lovely bedtime metaphor of moonlight like butter.

Reviewed by Reviewer 19

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moonlight is a beautifully illustrated book that uses color to enhance the story line. The author uses descriptive wording in a poetic format to guide the reader through the pages. This book could be used to show the use of light and dark color when illustrating, it can be used to show another style of poetic writing, and can also be good for modeling descriptive language.