Winter Moon Song

by Martha Brooks and Leticia Ruifernandez

A small rabbit is thinking about the Winter Moon Song the rabbits all sing “to... read more

A small rabbit is thinking about the Winter Moon Song the rabbits all sing “to lighten the darkest month of the year with a trail of magic.” They perform it in a grand indoor space. “The gleaming windows shut out the night. Candles flickered everywhere… The age-old song began.” Out in the cold air after the performance, the little rabbit starts singing the song again as he thinks it should be sung, “under the winter moon.” Others join in. “And when the song was over and everyone gazed up at the rabbit-in-the-moon, they all felt that they were not separate or lonely but part of one great rabbit family.” Martha Brooks’s lovely writing takes its time, offering lyrical, concrete descriptions. It also creates space for readers and listeners to think, just as the young rabbit does, about the purpose and meaning of traditions, which can be living, changing things. Gorgeous watercolor and ink illustrations serve as the backdrop to an original story that draws from the tradition of Moon Rabbit creation tales, including the one a Lakota elder told to the author that inspired this variation. (Ages 5–9)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2015

show less

3 Total Resources 1 Awards View Text Complexity Submit Text Complexity