Long Night Moon
by Cynthia Rylant, Mark Siegel (Illustrator)
Cynthia Rylant is one of my favorite authors. She has written over 100 books for children. This book, Long Night Moon, can be read at different points in the year for more perspective on seasons and differing lengths of days. Each month’s moon has a special name with corresponding nature changes in the illustrations. Beginning with January and ending with December (the longest night), the moon is poetically described. This would be a great good-night book for ages 5-8, and a reassuring story that may be read again and again. This is a link to a free lesson I wrote on ReadWriteThink that includes Long Night Moon.
Cynthia Rylant also wrote Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven, as well as many well-known titles. If a child’s dog or cat would ever die, this spiritual but not traditional story would be a most sympathetic read. She has written stories for all ages.
