Books to Celebrate the Full Moon

There’s a full moon today, which is all I need as an excuse to share some of our favourite moon related picture books with you! But back to the books for now – clockwise, starting from the top:

• The Marvellous Moon Map, by Teresa Heapy (author) & David Litchfield (illustrator) – The boys received this book for Christmas. The illustration are absolutely gorgeous, and it’s one of those books you fall in love with straight away. It features a set of friends, Mouse and Bear, and Mouse wants to go find the Moon. So he draws an elaborate Moon Map to show him the way. Bear wants to help his friend, but Mouse insists he can do it all on his own. Inevitably, Mouse gets a little lost, but Bear comes to the rescue. Because that’s what friends are for. He turn’s Mouse’s Moon Map in to a boat, to help them sail across the water. But will they find the Moon in the end? This is a really sweet story of friendship. As Bear keeps saying “I’ve got you, and you’ve go me – so we’ll be all right”. There are instructions at the back of the book, on how to fold a paper boat, and I guarantee you, your kids will also want to create their own Moon Map!
• Moon, by Britta Teckentrup – This is a book we won in a giveaway on Toppsta,  a children’s book review website. We love Britta Teckentrup! We already have a couple other books by her, and they are all beautifully illustrated. The book follows various animals around the world, from scorpions in the desert to puffins in the far North, or jelly fish in the ocean. As you go along, the peek through pages let you see the moon change its shape, as it waxes and wanes. A book that is not just beautiful, but also a great talking point to talk with kids about the lunar cycle.
• Long Night Moon, by Cynthia Rylant (author) & Mark Siegel (illustrator) – This book, I picked up in a charity shop. It’s based on the Native American tradition of giving different names to each full moon throughout the year. The book takes you through the months of the year, introducing each moon by name.The Stormy Moon, the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Thunder Moon. It’s a beautifully poetic book, with evocative charcoal drawings. Not just a great book for introducing children to Native American traditions, but also a great introduction to poetry.
• The Mouse who Ate the Moon, by Petr Horacek – This cute story is one we picked up at the library. It features another little mouse who loves the moon. Little Mouse is delighted to wake up one morning, and discover a piece of moon has fallen from the sky, right in front of her house. It smells delicious too! But what happens, when Little Mouse starts to have a nibble? I love this book, because it’s a funny yet heart warming book, that made my boys giggle out loud. The cut outs and peek through pages also help to engage them a bit more, especially my 3 year old.
• I Took the Moon for a Walk, by Carolyn Curtis (author) & Alison Jay (illustrator) – And, finally, this is a book Oskar was gifted a couple years ago at his old nursery, but I didn’t like the German translation because the rhymes all sounded a bit clumsy, so we gave it away. We recently re-discovered it at the library in its original English, and it reads much better. The rhymes really flow in English, and the illustrations are beautiful. The story is about a little boy, who takes the moon for a walk one night, and all the things they see along the way. My 3 year old is really taken with the book, and I caught him the other day ‘reading’ it to himself. At the back of the book, there is also some further information about the lunar cycle, and some nocturnal animals and how they have adapted to the night time. A beautiful, thoughtful book with lots of discussion points.

And don’t forget, The Bear & The Fox now has its own YouTube channel! You can find a video of this week’s book round-up, where I talk you through this week’s recommendations and give a bit more insight in to each book! Check it out here >> YouTube Book Round-up: The Moon And, of course, I’d also be really grateful if you would subscribe. Thanks!

Do you know of any other great picture books about the moon? Please feel free to share your recommendations in the comments below!

---

Please note that the book links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you buy any books via these links, I receive a small percentage – at no extra cost to you! – which helps to keep this blog running. Thank you.