ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

It isn't easy to cram science lessons into graceful poetry, but Crelin makes it look effortless in this appealing ode to the moon and its phases. An unnamed brother and sister serve as visual anchors through verses that culminate in a section that devotes two pages to each phase. This area is tabbed for easy access (each tab features a picture of the appropriate phase) and includes a cutout illustration allowing a view of some portion of the full moon printed at the center of the book nifty device executed with a clean design that perfectly matches the thick-lined watercolor illustrations. It's hard to fault Crelin's text, though it's probably not the clearest way for young readers to get their information ("A few days pass, and Moon's less shy; / her smile lights the twilight sky."). Plowing through the book straight through might test the patience of some young researchers, but even they will be well served by the straightforward facts (and rhyming memorization devices!) that conclude the book.

Horn Book

Ambitious, innovative design characterizes this book: pages of heavy stock feature tabs showing the moon's silhouette for the eight different phases; a cutout within each illustration reinforces this information. The text consists mainly of (occasionally forced) rhyming quatrains. Digitally enhanced linoleum block print and watercolor illustrations artfully support the science.

Kirkus Reviews

Crelin opens with a question that young readers often wonder—why does the moon change shape? Unfortunately, his answer is difficult to grasp. Singsong phrases and forced rhymes stilt the science and muddle the conclusions. "Each changing face (or lunar phase) / repeats each nine-and-twenty days." Listeners may appreciate the rhythm, but most insight will come from the visual clues. Strategically placed die-cuts show the moon as it waxes or wanes with each page turn. Tabs are also cut into the border and marked with images of the changing moon, forming a timeline at the book's edge. Evans's block-print illustrations, carved with precision, echo the slices of moon that are shaved away. In contrast to the rhyming text, a simple end note clearly explains this lunar dance of shadow and light. Fun "Moon Memo-Rhymes" are also included to help remember moon facts. There is no doubt that the author knows his crescent from his gibbous phase; but alas, the verse style should have been limited to the memo-rhymes. Recommended for visual learners at best. (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

For amateur scientists, here are some enticing picks.

<REVIEW PUBLISHER=""Reed Business Information-US"" RELEASEDATE=""06/15/2009"" LANGUAGE=""EN"" SECRIGHTS=""YES"" PUBLICATION=""Publishers Weekly"" PUBDATE=""06/15/2009"" VOLUME=""256"" ISSUE=""24"" PAGE=""50"" SECTION=""Reviews"" SUBSECTION=""Children's Books"" CONTENTTYPE=""Review"" AUTHNAME=""Staff"">Faces of the MoonBob Crelin, illus. by Leslie Evans. Charlesbridge, $16.95 (36p) ISBN 978-1-57091-785-1

With gentle interactive elements and rhymed verse, this picture book strikes a reflective tone while providing an effective lesson on the moon and its phases. A boy, a girl and a dog gaze up at the moon and wonder “just why her face is curved, or round,/ or why she sometimes can't be found?” During each of the moon's phases, the children are pictured engaging in various activities while the moon shines above them, peeking through die-cut pages: “Now WAXING GIBBOUS, fat with light,/ she's nearly round—up late at night.” The pages also have side tabs that show the moon in its corresponding phases. Evans's bright, chunky linoleum block print and watercolor illustrations present the moon as a constant presence in the children's lives, sometimes as a pale backdrop for everyday events, at other times a source of wonderment. Ages 6–9. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(July)

School Library Journal (Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 1-3 Die-cut holesstarting with a big round one on the front covertrack the Moons phases as seen in the northern hemisphere. While Crelin explains whats happening in verse (The Moons first phase, we call it NEW/when Moons between the Sun and you./Her sunlit side is turned away,/and we cant see her, night or day), and then (superfluously) again in prose at the end, Evanss digitally enhanced linoleum-block prints depict two children watching the sky or going about their daily or nightly business in a variety of urban and outdoor settings. Though the text could have used better proofreading (crescent is misspelled twice), the special design elements, heavy paper stock, and rich coloring add up to a sumptuous presentation. Consider this volume as an enhancement for more conventional treatments such as Suzanne Slades The Phases of the Moon (Rosen, 2007) or Franklyn Mansfield Branleys classic The Moon Seems to Change (HarperCollins, 1960; o.p.). John Peters, New York Public Library