Moon Sailors

An imagination-filled lunar sail yields maritime delights in this fantasy from Woodward and Gregg. Two children, portrayed with different skin tones, embark upon a celestial journey, setting sail from a bedroom in a green boat and arriving on the moon to “moor where moonshells glisten.” Sonorous first-person plural narration describes encounters with aquatic wonders, including “moon crabs dancing” and “nodding jelly moons.” Washed in pale, aquamarine shades, intricate drawings of beachy scenes seem at once familiar and otherworldly. Peering into a tide pool, the youths see their faces and the starry night sky reflected back; later, they look up at whale-shaped constellations as Earth peeks above the horizon. Eventually, the protagonists slow their exploring and head home accompanied by chitons and anemones, and a final picture shows the intergalactic beachcombers snoozing soundly. It’s a soothing story of ocean-driven dreaminess. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)