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Faces of the Moon



Last updated Monday, April 5, 2010

Author: Bob Crelin
Illustrator: Leslie Evans
Date of Publication: 2009
ISBN: 157091785X
Grade Level: 1st    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Apr. 2010

Synopsis: Die-cut holes–starting with a big round one on the front cover–track the Moon's phases as seen in the northern hemisphere. While Crelin explains what's happening in verse (The Moon's first phase, we call it NEW–/when Moon's between the Sun and you./Her sunlit side is turned away,/and we can't see her, night or day), and then (superfluously) again in prose at the end, Evans's digitally enhanced linoleum-block prints depict two children watching the sky or going about their daily or nightly business in a variety of urban and outdoor settings. Though the text could have used better proofreading (crescent is misspelled twice), the special design elements, heavy paper stock, and rich coloring add up to a sumptuous presentation. Consider this volume as an enhancement for more conventional treatments such as Suzanne Slade's The Phases of the Moon (Rosen, 2007) or Franklyn Mansfield Branley's classic The Moon Seems to Change (HarperCollins, 1960; o.p.).–John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Note to readers:
•  Read and discuss before the read aloud. It is encouraged to read with group and discuss if you are unfamiliar with the phases of the moon.
•  Vocabulary:
•  Transforms: to change in form, structure, or appearance
•  Lunar phase
•  Orbit: the curved path, usually elliptical, described by a planet, satellite, spaceship, etc., around a celestial body, as the sun
•  Cresent: a shape resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends
•  Dusk : the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight
•  Dawn: the first appearance of daylight in the morning
•  Gibbous: 1. (Astronomy) (of the moon or a planet) more than half but less than fully illuminated

Discussion topics:
•  Does the moon have a face?
•  Why do people see a face on the moon? (Craters)
•  Have you ever tried to see the phases of the moon? (as shown in pg. 5/6)

Craft ideas:
•  Lunar Calendar (see reverse for April's phases of the moon)
•  Draw a moon face mask
•  Draw a comparison picture of the earth and the moon.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!