Night of the Moonjellies - Hardcover

Mark Shasha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 193090097X ISBN 13: 9781930900974

Publisher: Purple House Press, 2017

Synopsis

Young Mark spends a busy, noisy day helping out at Gram's seaside hot dog stand. After the last customer is served and the grill is scrubbed to a silvery shine, Mark sails off with Gram for a promised surprise, and finds a nighttime sea full of shimmering moonjellies.

The scientific name for the creatures in this story is Ctenophore, they are also called comb jellies or sea gooseberries. In New England they are most plentiful in the late summer. They are not true jellyfish because they don't have stinging cells or tentacles. Moonjellies are harmless.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Shasha is a painter, writer and illustrator whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Phoenix, Boston Magazine and other publications. His first book, Night of the Moonjellies, won the Marion Vannett Ridgway Honor Book Award in 1993 and was named to the American Booksellers Association's Pick of the Lists.

Mark has travelled to hundreds of schools, usually in his familiar yellow suit, where he has delighted tens of thousands of children with his books, journals, songs and drawings. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the education of young people, he was awarded the 1999 Shining Star Award by the Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut. Home is on the North Shore of Boston, where he sometimes appears in theatre productions and is known to show up for almost any occasion with his guitar. He lives with his wife and two children.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- On his way to help grandmother and relatives at a seaside hot dog stand, seven-year-old Mark stops on the beach to pick up a small jellylike substance that he places in a bag of seawater. A moonlight ride with Gram on a fishing boat takes them out on the ocean where thousands of moonjellies shimmer, and the boy slips his treasure back among them. Based on a childhood experience in New England, Shasha's narrative is full of small details that illuminate the story but don't impede it. His rich pastels combined with the text create a strong sense of place and time--the warmth of family relationships, the quiet companionship of the boy and his grandmother, the cheerful hard work and hustle-bustle of the concession stand, and the magic of the glowing sea. His use of light, shadows, and darkness in the luminous full-color double-page spreads invite readers right into the story. Unfortunately, neither the text nor the jacket notes identify exactly what a moonjelly is. Despite this omission, it's a strong debut. --Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Purple House Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 193090097X
• ISBN 13: 9781930900974
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32