HOW THE MOON REGAINED HER SHAPE by Janet Ruth Heller

How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet Ruth Heller and Illustrated by Ben Hodson has much to offer the young reader, and indeed, any adult reading the book with the child. While it does have a strong message, which becomes quite obvious rather soon in the book, there are many little lesson packed into very few pages. This work has won multiple awards and just one reading will allow the reader to know why.

This is the story of the moon, a rather happy young lady that enjoyed dancing across the sky, laughing and twirling her skirts as she took pride in the gentle and soothing light she brought. As is so often the case, she runs into a situation that more or less shakes up and alters her world. The Sun, who in this little story is a rather nasty creature who seems quite unhappy with happy people, or in this case, celestial beings, feels the need to put her down. This is often the case with bullies, as you have probably noted in your own life. He insults the happy moon and points out her shortcomings and his superiority. This causes our happy moon to start doubting herself and, indeed, her entire self worth. We also learn that once we know our worth, even further insults, while they may hurt and cause us some anguish, can quickly be overcome by just remembering who we are and what place we hold in the world.

The author has used a folk tale mode to tell this story. She has drawn from the method of the Native American; to tell a story, using nature, to make a point. The story has certainly been influenced by this method of telling a story, but nowhere do I find that the author or artist has tried to pass it off as an authentic Native American Folk Tale. They have merely used a conveyance that has long been in use, a good example being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whom I doubt seriously would attempt to pass his The Song of Hiawatha as a “genuine” Native American Folk Tale or pass off The Saga of King Olaf as truly Norse. This method is a literary tool and should be taken as such.

All that being said, this is a wonderful work. As one reviewer has pointed out, it is a lesson in astronomy, a touch of history, wonderful new fable, and like all good fables, teaches us lessons. In this work, we find that we cannot let bullies rule our lives; that we all have our strong points and all contribute greatly to the world and, indeed, universe around us. We may not see or be aware of the impact of our lives on others, but nevertheless we do have an impact and we all need to be aware of it. There is, beyond a doubt, a strong feminist message in this work, something I find refreshing as it is not overbearing with the message, but rather gently and practical.

The written text is extremely readable and is ideal for a group read. This simply written text, along with the wonderful short course in astronomy found in the back of the book, which covers information about the moon and its phases, gives the parent and teacher absolute hours of material to discuss with their child; more about this later.

The text is only half the charm of this particular work though. Ben Hodson has done a wonderful job, using a Southwestern Native American motif. While certainly not absolutely authentic, it does convey the feeling and mood in rather interesting color combinations that are absolutely eye catching.

I “kid tested” this work on three different classes of second grade students and it was a hit. In fact, I was asked for second readings by two of the classes. They loved the story and loved the pictures. You cannot get a better endorsement for a children’s book than this.

The book ends with five page mini-lesson on the mood and phases of the moon. This little lesson is for adults and is written as such. The author has given us some nice projects and food for thought for the children.

All in all, the concept of this book is great. Kids love
it and it is fun to read with them. The art work is of the highest quality. I hardly see how you could go wrong with this one.

Considerations :::
How The Moon Regained Her Shape has an Accelerated Reading (AR) designation of 3.4 which means that the average 3rd Grader in the 4th month of school should be able to read it without getting frustrated by the vocabulary. It can be read aloud to any age.