Luna and the Moon Rabbit

Inspired by Asian folklore, this atmospheric story (first published in the U.K.) opens as Luna sits with her grandmother and stuffed bunny, gazing at the full moon. Visible on the luminous orb is a faint silhouette of a rabbit, which the woman explains is the Moon Rabbit, who will visit Luna if she leaves a rice cake for him. Though skeptical, the girl complies at bedtime and is rewarded: after the Moon Rabbit appears at her window, the two embark on a dreamlike romp in a forest filled with fireflies encircled by gossamer halos, “flitting to and fro in the darkness.” Whitcher deftly manipulates shadow and light in her ethereal art, as the oversize, phosphorescent white rabbit and radiant dandelions (magically open at night) pop from the subtly moonlit landscape. One of those blooms transforms into a glowing dandelion puff, which Luna blows upon to create another visual treat: the pastel-hued, featherlike seeds swirl upward, “joining the stars in the night sky.” In a sweet and gentle finale, Moon Rabbit delivers a sleepy Luna to her bed, where her bunny toy awaits her, before soaring home. Ages 3–up. (Aug.)