Summer Reading Program 2014. Week 2: Mad Science (special program) & Moon

Our official Summer Reading Program this afternoon is a special event - a performer is coming in and doing a Mad Science Magic Show for us, and that means I'm off the hook for doing that program this week - but I still have to do a Space-themed program for my little ones this morning.  However, we're picking Space up again later in the summer for our make-up week, so I went off on a slight tangent for our little ones today, and we read about the moon today.

Footprints on the Moon
Mark Haddon, illustrated by Christian Birmingham
ISBN: 9780763644406
This book is so pretty.  I think the overall message is a bit sophisticated for this age-group, but they enjoyed the beautiful pointillist paintings, and the surface story is simple enough - a young boy longs for the moon, and even when he grows up, he loves knowing that the footprints on the moon are nearly eternal.
(Side note, the author also wrote the middle-grade/YA book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which also recently got a National Theatre adaptation by Simon Stephens and Marianne Elliot.)

Happy Birthday, Moon
Frank Asch
ISBN: 0689835442
An old but excellent read, and fairly short and straightforward, with simple line and color to balance the richness of the other two.  Bear wants to give the moon a birthday present, so he first tries to figure out when it is and what to give, and then later a mishap occurs, but all is forgiven.  Bonus points for having an echo as a key plot point - I love doing echoes.

Max and the Tag-Along Moon
Floyd Cooper,
ISBN: 9780399233425
Max has to leave his grandpa's house one night, and he already misses him, but grandpa assures him that the moon will always shine for him "on and on" through the night.  And it's true, as Max travels the (very long way) back home, the moon sticks with him all night, until clouds roll in and cover it up.  Max is sad, now missing grandpa AND the moon, but as he settles in to sleep in his bed, the clouds fade away and the moon is still there, reminding Max of his grandfather, and helping him sleep peacefully.  African American family and a lovely lullaby story with exceptionally beautiful painterly illustrations.