See You Soon Moon

On a car trip to Grandma's house, a boy discovers that the moon is following them. ""We go up the big hill./ There's the moon!/ And around the lake. See the moon!"" Across the countryside, along the highway, through a tunnel and into the city, he keeps track of the changing scenery and the moon's progress, until they arrive at their destination. ""Hi, Grandma! Look, look, up over the rooftops--the moon came with us too!"" Although debut author Conrad's theme is a familiar one, it's played out here with pizzazz, in poetic prose rife with pleasant repetition, jaunty descriptions (""The moon shines brighter than a night-light high in the blueberry sky"") and gentle humor (""See you later, blanket--/ I think I'll take my blanket""). Carter (Wake Up House!) crafts his eye-catching, irresistibly tactile 3-D illustrations from foam board and plaster and layers shiny acrylic paint as thickly as frosted cookies. A simple, uncluttered layout, vibrant colors and textured cut-out shapes that render trees as lollipops, noses as bright cherry-colored beads and the moon a fat buttered biscuit in the sky add visual punch. Ages 2-4. (Mar.)