Little, Brown Books for Young Readers A Big Mooncake Star

A Big Mooncake For Little Star is one of the most beautiful books we've read. With sumptuous black pages and a mama and child in starry pajamas, the characters meld into the background like a starry night, and yet are full of warmth and character. The illustrations cleverly include only what is needed for the story, with little background detail, thus drawing attention to what matters.At the beginning of this book, Mama and Little Star are making a mooncake. Little Star is told not to eat it, and leaves it in the sky as instructed throughout the day. But come nighttime, she forgets to resist temptation and pat pat pats her way over to nibble it. Over the coming nights she repeats this, and we see the moon pass through all the phases until eventually all is left is a trail of glittery crumbs, and it is time to make another.Little Star and her mama are beautifully illustrated with warm, tender expressions, and Little Star's cheeky face and excited dash to the mooncake perfectly capture the mischief of childhood.This is a stunning addition to any bookshelf and a great way of introducing the topic of the phases of the moon.

Un libro muy simple pero bonito, quizás a los adultos no podemos entender dónde está la gracia del libro pero a mi hija de 3 años le ha gustado. Te das cuenta sobre todo cuando cada vez que se come unas tortitas te dice que "me como la luna". Ya tenía otros libros de la autora, pero no eran libros ilustrados y eran para niños más mayores (8-12 años) luego este "Big Mooncake for little star" ha sido una sorpresa.

I love Grace Lin. She is consistently a favorite children’s author in our house, and this book won’t disappoint!First, the illustrations are stunning. The background of every page is shiny black with the mooncake and Little Star’s pajamas jumping off the page.Second, the story is so relatable to little kids. Little Star can’t help herself. She takes bites of the mooncake every night and trails crumbs everywhere.Finally, what a beautiful fable about the cycle of the moon! I try to be intentional about sharing fables and stories from multiple cultures with my kids, and this story/fable is awesome.My 4-year-old son said, “So, I think this story must be true. The moon does change just like that!” What a perfect springboard for discussing the role of stories in understanding our world! (Not that he got what I was talking about. He pretty much believes the story is true still. But a better conversation with my 7-year-old!)

I suspect most real-life mooncakes vanish more quickly than the time it takes to read this book, and the smile your youngster will be making at the end of this book would match the smile of someone with a satisfied stomach. Yes, the ending will bring a smile. Likewise, all kids are kind of mischievous and Little Star’s mom knows this. The fun is two-fold; seeing the moon change its phases, and seeing a young miss tiptoeing around at night to snitch. Grace Lin is doubly-talented; she’s both author and illustrator and her pictures are exactly right. This book is for 4-8-year olds.

Mooncakes. How simple! This book will be read to my Story Time group at the library where I am children's director. I'll bake a mooncake to go with it, and maybe serve moonpies and a liquid refreshment too. Our theme for 2019 summer reading program is "A Universe of Stories" and this will fit right in. Love it!