When the Moon Smiled

by petr-horacek

Petr Horacek’s vividly colorful illustrations and multiplying die-cut stars make for a bedtime counting book that twinkles with charm.Night has come to the farm, but the moon is not smiling. The animals are all out of place, and to set things right, the moon needs to light the stars, one by one. As the number of yellow die-cut stars increases on each page, little readers will be eager to count them (and to count all the animals, too). With appealingly childlike artwork in rich glowing hues, this warm, clever counting book will bring smiles all around.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Counting, Animals, Number

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ciara Greed · Rating 4 out of 5]

'When the Moon Smiled' is a calming peep-through book where the moon wants to "put things right" for the animals on the farm below him.

He starts lighting one star for one farm dog, another star for the two cats, another star for the three cows and so on! By the end of the book the sky is twinkling with stars!

I feel this book, despite being aimed as a bedtime counting book, would also be great read in an EYFS setting at the end of the day where children can count along with the moon.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense colorful illustrations of the farm animals going to sleep under the watchful eye of the moon who places a star in the sky corresponding to the number of animals in the picture. Love the slightly blurred effect of the illustrations that makes me think of how one sees images at nighttime.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the animals on the farm are messed up between daytime and nighttime and the moon is trying to help them straigten out who should be sleeping and who should be awake with the help of the stars. Toddler and up

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un des livres préférés de mon fils pour l'heure du dodo, l'histoire est simple et les illustrations vraiment belles. À la fin on me manque pas d'ajouter une 11ième étoile pour Liam, qui prend sa suce, son koala, ferme ses yeux, et s'endort ;-)

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute and sweet book that is good for learning numbers and animals. The artwork is lovely, like chalk or charcoal pictures that are quite eye-catching.

[Pennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful. Be sure to check out the tiny groups of animals painted on the last page spread. I almost missed them, but my eagle eyed daughter spotted them.

[E.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petr Horáček writes and illustrates this number story counting book about the moon getting the sky ready for night. The moon lights the very first star for the dog so he can go to sleep and by the end, the whole sky is full of stars. This is a great bedtime story; the illustrations, which look like crayon drawings, create a mood of sleepiness, using dark blues and vibrant yellows for the stars. There are star cut outs so when the page turns, there is no color behind them, but when put down lights up yellow which is very neat and interactive for children. There is only one sentence per page and although there is no rhyming, the number of words per page and the art which is simplistic and smooth make this developmentally appropriate for children. The book uses farm animals and stars as its objects, which children should be familiar with and the numbers of stars per page are accurate and go along with what is on the page, which make this an appropriate counting book for children.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This works great with a pre-school crowd. The moon looks down on a mixed up farmyard where all the animals who are supposed to be asleep are awake and all who are supposed to be awake are asleep. Each star the moon lights corrects one of the problems.

As a performer, you can prompt the group to participate in the story by asking "who does the moon see here?" (a dog) "What does the dog say" (woof) "Do dogs stay awake at night?" (NO!) "Can you blow a kiss?" (blow on uplifted hand) "That's how the moon lights a star" ...and read the text on this page spread...

And so forth through the book.

[Ginny Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful bedtime book, When the Moon Smiled also teaches counting. Not only that, but children are also introduced to some nocturnal animals. With its adorable crayon and watercolor illustrations, this book is a great addition to a child's bedtime routine!

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a toddler magnet today. They were absolutely fascinated with the moon picture and the star cut throughs. (Made it a little difficult for reading, but I would rather have fascination than boredom.) It will probably be a new standby for Toddler time.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cut outs of the stars give this an extra incentive to start counting with the kids
One by one the moon lights up stars to put to sleep the animals who sleep at night and to wake up the animals that should be awake, from one dog to ten moths.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the simple crayon look to the illustrations and the see-through moon is super neat! This is an age appropriate introduction to the concept of nocturnal and diurnal animals. All while counting with peephole stars. Great book!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just gorgeous. I wish I had younger children to read this book to at bedtime. I will have to settle for a sleepy story time at the library.

[Ellen]

A very sweet bedtime book. Good for sharing with groups.

[Aramis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute counting story about farm animals awake who should be sleeping/sleeping who should be awake and what the moon does (light the stars) to help set things right.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very clever early counting book with watercolor and crayon illustrations.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked this book very much, its a sweet book with nice pictures.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appropriate for Toddler and Preschool Storytime.