Mending the moon

Luna and her grandfather have their work cut out for them when one night the moon falls on the mountain where they live and shatters. According to Poppa, the oceans and maybe the whole world are in danger if the moon can't be repaired and rehung. Luckily, all the animals on the mountain seem to know this, too, and join in. First, the creatures help gather up all the small, glowing pieces. And when Luna and Poppa's efforts to use tree sap to make repairs only leave messy blotches, the rabbits call on the silkworms to spin thread that binds everything back together. But now how to put it back in the sky? In Ugolotti's moonlit woodland scenes, smiling bears, deer, rabbits, and other wildlife join the two tan-skinned human residents to watch as, with a glorious whirl of bright colors, great flocks of birds gather and then place the glowing orb back among the stars…and then to dance in joy and relief. Later, when Luna frets that the smudges are still visible on the moon, Poppa's response that "that is just how it was always supposed to look" has an anticlimactic ring. Still, being as all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't do even that well with Humpty Dumpty, there's no cause for complaint. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Falls off toward the end but not before offering an ingenious explanation for the moon's markings. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.