The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

October 25, 2021
In affirming rhymes, Montez Minor offers an encouraging picture book comparing readers to the sun, the moon, and the stars in turn: “You are like the moon...// Just like the moon/ makes oceans rise and fall,/ your dreams will attract all who you call.” Metaphors throughout are intangible and slightly uneven, but Won expands upon each verse with soft, luminous digital spreads, mainly following three smiling children of varying skin tones with their families. The kids occasionally partake in fantastical, dreamlike activities, as in a spread where a brown-skinned child wearing pilot’s goggles rises into the air in a life-size model of their toy plane amid a shower of golden stars. The book’s light tone, emphasizing compassion and interconnectivity, makes this a fitting bedtime read. Ages 3–6.