The Coziest Place on the Moon

by Maria Popova, Sarah Jacoby (illustrator)

From Marginalian creator Maria Popova and acclaimed illustrator Sarah Jacoby comes this gorgeous picture book about the dark side of the moon, and creative solitude as an antidote to loneliness.

Feeling like the loneliest creature on Earth, Re decides to go live in the coziest place on the moon. She packs her suitcase and takes off on a beam of light, shooting out into the cosmic aloneness of space. Her aim is to go into the cozy nook she has heard the moon possesses. But shortly after her arrival, she discovers that she is not alone. Indeed, another lonely soul has beat her there! And so, Re meets Mi, and while each lives in her own chamber of the nook, these two single souls still become, at times, a kind of togetherness. Each remains alone but less lonely, and now each can watch over the solitude of the other. Moreover, on certain nights, the solitary songs of them both might be heard cadencing the night together, in harmony, across the vast and starry sky.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy

44 pages, Hardcover

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Maria Popova is a reader and a writer, and writes about what she reads on Brain Pickings (brainpickings.org), which is included in the Library of Congress permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials. She hosts The Universe in Verse—an annual charitable celebration of science through poetry—at the interdisciplinary cultural center Pioneer Works in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tranquility” comes from the Latin words for “exceedingly” and “quiet.” Tranquility is what it feels like to be happy-alone instead of lonely, the other word for which is solitude — that feeling which feels like hearing your own voice singing back to yourself.

i’m not crying you’re crying!!!!!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Necesito este libro para los hijes que aún no tengo

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re wakes and decides he wants to live in the “coziest place on the moon.” So he sets off on a beam of light at the speed of dreams, landing at the edge of the Sea of Tranquility. There, our lonely little creature finds a lovely cave deep within the moon. But he soon discovers he’s not the first to seek out a “happy-alone” space. Re and Mi learn to coexist—each in their own quiet corner, content in their solitude, yet warmed by the gentle presence of the other.

This picture book is a song to the happiness found in solitude—and in the unexpected joy of discovering someone who shares your love of quiet. Jacoby’s breathless, weightless art is the perfect complement to Popova’s whisper-soft prose, which revels in the beauty of stillness and space. Her lyrical language—words like “unsea” and “happy-alone”—makes each verse feel not only poetic but insightful.

I adore this book and everything it represents. The edges feel smudgy and dreamlike, but the science gives it a strong and steady backbone. It’s absolutely charming, and I can’t wait to read it to my students. I highly recommend this book for both home and library collections.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Lisa Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was exactly what I needed today. Maria Popova, who many of us know from her "Brain Pickings" e-newsletter, has, with the help of artist/illustrator Sarah Jacoby, created a perfect place for those of us who sometimes need to be alone, together.

Based on the 2022 discovery that there are caves beneath the lunar Sea of Tranquility with a steady temperature near 17 degrees (Celsius), The Coziest Place on the Moon invites us to go there. Re, an intrepid hedgehog-like creature, on a very lonely day on earth, packs their suitcase of brightly coloured yarn (as a knitter, I heartily support this), and heads off to the coziest place on the moon. There, to their surprise, they find they are not alone.

This is a stunning picture book. It would be a terrific addition to a classroom or school library, and I would use it as a provocation for conversations around space (both personal and outer), use of colour and media in art class, as a jumping off point for so many discussions about what spaces make you feel cozy? lonely? This is a beautiful text to share with someone you love. So many thanks to the author and illustrator.

Thanks to Edelweiss for the e-arc

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tranquility is what it feels like to be happy-alone instead of lonely, the other word for which is solitude - that feeling which feels like hearing your own voice singing back to yourself."
This is such a curious and dynamic picture book. I love how it celebrates the idea of being "happy-alone" - though also plays with the idea of "parallel tranquilities." My five-year-old struggled to get into this picture book and seemed pretty frustrated with the storyline, but my eight-year-old was much more curious about it. It's a book I'd read with older students (even adults)

[Teri B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gem of a picture book. The illustrations are amazing, invite to step into them and go onto a journey into one's own solitude.
At the same time science is offered in an easy to understand way that opens up to the wonder of life beyond the planet we are living on, Earth.
This was my Xmas present to myself for Xmas 2025. I'm very happy with my choice.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shimmering, soft story about Re, a blue hedgehog that decides to move to the moon, where they find a comforting solitude-- and the unexpected joy of being alone, together. A gentle and meditative book.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are wonderful but we struggled a little with the story. For a second we even thought it might be related to musical notes (since we have Re and Mi) but that wasn’t the case.
I guess it was just a book about wanting to find a cozy place to be alone.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

so sweet, so beautiful, so cozy