The Moon Jumpers

The late Sendak received a Caldecott Honor in 1960 for his paintings of a group of children cavorting by moonlight in this quiet story from Udry, which is being rereleased in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Where the Wild Things Are in 2013. Sendak’s images alternate between small, squarish, b&w vignettes—an owl perched on a branch, a woman and her husband poring over a book indoors—and full-bleed scenes of the children’s nocturnal play, as they dance and tumble like Matisse figures on the lawn. The hushed quality of Udry’s prose (“The warm night-wind tosses our hair. The wind chimes stir”) is a lovely companion to the deep blues, greens, and purples of Sendak’s paintings, giving the story an enchanting sense of nighttime magic and possibility. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)