Night Moon Blew Kisses

Despite its too sweet, cotton-candy title, this atmospheric lullaby--which comes with a built-in good-night kiss--evokes the largeness of a small event. A girl and her grandmother walk under a winter night's moon. The youngster blows a kiss to the lonely moon--""a swirly kiss, a twirly kiss,/ a willowy-billowy/ wisp of a kiss."" And the moon returns the gesture with a gentle puff of snowflakes--""frozen kisses/ melt against our faces!"" With restrained wonder, first-time author Manuel's delicate language touches the sweet, fleeting nature of a kiss. Showing swirls of light in the winter sky and swirls of motion in the paths of the falling snow, Spowart's (Vegetable Soup; Mama, If You Had a Wish) vapory colored pencil illustrations gather strength in their abstract simplicity. But they also risk a fuzzy coziness that culminates in the trite, happy-faced moon. Crossing the thin line between playful and cute, the book's genuine warmth cools somewhat. Ages 3-8. (Aug.)