Faces of the Moon, by Bob Crelin (One Joy Crelin's dad!), is coming from Charlesbridge on July 1st, smack dab in the middle of the International Year of Astronomy.
This is one of those books that is kind of difficult to describe. It's educational, in that it teaches the reader about all the different moon phases, but the rhyming verses give it a fun lullaby feel as well. It's a picture book, with gorgeous linoleum block print and watercolor illustrations by Leslie Evans, but it's also an interactive tool. It's a children's book, but it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Faces of the Moon is unique. That's the simplest way to describe it.
My favorite part of Faces is the section that uses cutouts to show the progression of the moon phases. The moon shows through the cutout in the middle of each page, demonstrating how much of the moon is visible during each stage in its orbit. Tabs along the sides of the pages make it easy for the reader to navigate this section. To see exactly what I mean, check out this animation on Charlesbridge's website. How cool is that?!
I'm also a big fan of the "Memo-Rhymes" found at the end of Faces of the Moon. I've always used "tricks" to remember things (I still find myself humming Latin verb conjugation songs to myself from time to time), and this section is particularly useful to learners like myself. If I ever need to know, say, the difference between the waxing and waning moon, I'm covered.
I know that, as the author's daughter, I'm wicked biased. That's ok. Here's what some people who aren't related to Bob Crelin are saying:
Publishers Weekly
National Science Teacher's Association
Interested? You can purchase Faces of the Moon from Charlesbridge, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Borders.
To enhance your moon phase-identifying experience, check out Bob's Moon Gazers' Wheel!
:)
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