In the Light of the Moon and Other Bedtime Stories - Hardcover

Sam McBratney

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0753403951 ISBN 13: 9780753403952

Publisher: Kingfisher Books Ltd, 2001

Synopsis

With the distinctive voice so familiar to fans of the bestselling Guess How Much I Love You, Sam McBratney's narrative style brings out the storyteller in everyone. These eight specially commissioned stories are made for reading aloud, at bedtime or anytime. Meet a cheerful cast of characters, including Bunty the daydreaming Tooth Fairy; Big Bog Frog, the swamp bully; and three little mice on a moonlit adventure. Warm, witty illustrations from award-winning artist Kady MacDonald Denton beautifully reflect the rich variety of themes and the timeless charm of the storytelling. Each page dances with luminous color. This delightful collection is the perfect choice for parents and grandparents of any young child to snuggle up with and share, again and again.

About this title

About the Author

Sam McBratney is the author of the acclaimed picture book Guess How Much I Love You. Sam's distinctive storytelling voice builds on his rich storytelling tradition as a teacher, parent, and grandparent. He lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

From Publishers Weekly

McBratney's (Guess How Much I Love You) eight bedtime tales mix familiar and unfamiliar stories with a generous helping of Denton's (A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes) lighthearted vignette and full-spread illustrations. "Brother Bear" tells the traditional Jewish folktale about two brothers who covertly look after one another (two recent versions are Frances Harber's The Brothers' Promise and Neal Waldman's The Two Brothers). Several original tales prove that the author knows the power of a good opener: "There are parts of the world where the days are warm and the nights are never cold," begins "Big Bog Frog and Little Umbel," a story of a frog bully who get his comeuppance from an elephant. Unfortunately, in several of the stories, McBratney's promising momentum soon falters; while often funny, a few of these tales do not develop a compelling narrative arc. But all of the tales will be new for the target audience, and Denton's ebullient spot watercolors lend a sense of character and shape to each. She suffuses her pictures with light and airiness, and peppers them with a hearty dose of vaudevillian humor. In "The Fox Who Liked Eggs" (featuring a new plot for Henny Penny, Goosey Loosey et al), for instance, the story calls for the title villain to dress up as the Wise Old Bird in order to trick the birds out of their eggs; Denton decks him out in an extravagant and outlandishly comical feathered ensemble. Ages 3-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Kingfisher Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0753403951
• ISBN 13: 9780753403952
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 92
• Illustrator: Kady MacDonald Denton