Northern Lights Book Awards
Book of the Year
A Kite for Moon
Authors: Jane Yolen & Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Illustrator: Matt Phelan
Zonderkidz
A Kite for Moon, written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, a mother/daughter team, has been named the Northern Lights Book of the year!
With no one painting or photographing her, singing or sending up rockets to her, Moon is feeling lonely. One day, a small boy notices Moon is sad and tries to hug her. When that doesn’t work, he sends her a message attached to his kite, promising to visit someday. He sends her lots and lots of kites. Moon waits. Moon’s waiting is so poetic we just had to share it.
“Days went by, years.
Moon waxed and waned.
She counted shooting stars and meteors.
She worried about peace down on earth
and strange objects whizzing by.
She eclipsed.”
The boy watches Moon nightly through his telescope, a gift from his father. Moon watches the boy as he learns to ride a bicycle, drive a car, fly a plane and finally a rocket. With the whole world watching, the boy, now a man, fulfills his promise he made so many years ago.
From its breathtaking cover to the celestial canvases and poignant prose, this book is a true treasure. The fact that stars are used instead of periods makes it even more memorable. Dedicated to Neil Armstrong, we can’t think of a better way to pay homage to that momentous event of man walking on the moon 50 years ago. Just like that occasion, this book is sure to live in our hearts for decades to come.
We are so grateful writing runs in the Yolen family and want to thank them for their tremendous contributions to children’s literacy, both as a team and individually (be sure to check out Counting Birds: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends by Stemple, winner of the Northern Lights Book Awards in the STEM category ). We love your books to the moon and back!
You can view the full list of Northern Lights Book Award winners here:http://northerndawnawards.com/2019-northern-lights-book-awards-winners/
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