Hello, Harvest Moon [Hardcover]

Ralph Fletcher (Author), Kate Kiesler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2003 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

While tired farmers and their families are in bed, the harvest moon silently climbs into the sky and starts working its magic. For some, it is the nightly signal to rise and shine. It is time to hunt, to work, or to play in the shadows. For a little girl and her cat, it is an invitation to enjoy the wonders of the night and a last flood of light before the short days of winter set in. With an evocative text and radiant illustrations, this companion to Twilight Comes Twice offers a glimpse of nature’s nightlife long after bedtime.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 4-In this lyrical offering, the harvest moon rises on a quiet neighborhood and bathes the silent streets in brilliant lunar light. It illuminates corn and wheat fields, inspires luna moths to perform ballet in the crisp air, and casts a silver shadow on the red and orange autumn trees. A young girl and her cat play hide-and-seek by its light, a pilot flies her plane in near-daytime brightness, and a night watchman wonders if he'll need his flashlight. As morning nears, the moon sets in daylight and the child and her cat bid it goodnight. Fletcher's poetic prose makes use of gentle tempo and internal rhyme. Imaginative metaphors add to the text; as the moon sets, it sprinkles "silver coins like a careless millionaire." Careful use of second-person narrative draws readers into the text. Kiesler's luminous oil paintings portray the luscious moon glow, and a refrained use of brush stroke captures the mystery of nighttime when the familiar world becomes exotic, dazzling, and alive with nocturnal life. Warm hues evoke homey, autumn scenes. Hello, Harvest Moon helps usher in the season and encourages readers to connect with people throughout the ages who have marveled at the glorious sight.
Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. Impressionistic oil paintings evoke the feel of a crisp fall night in this ode to the harvest moon. Descriptive text introduces the huge, orange moon as it rises above the cornfields, and describes its effect on a little girl woken from sleep, a night watchman as he gets ready to go to work, and on nature itself. Moonflowers bloom, "though only night creatures will see them." Even though night is the focus here, the pace is anything but somnolent; readers will be awakened to a new world of activity that begins only when the moon rises. The overall effect is peaceful rather than frenetic, however; the dark beauty of the illustrations captures the magic of nighttime: a deep blue sky contrasting with the bright moon and stars; the little girl's cat pouncing on something invisible nearby; the harbor's dark water blending with the sky. Pair this with Julian Scheer's By the Light of the Captured Moon (2000) for before-bed reads that focus on nighttime instead of bedtime for a change. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (September 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618164510
• ISBN-13: 978-0618164516
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of young writers and readers as well as writing teachers. He has written or co-authored many books for writing teachers includng Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, and Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing. Ralph has worked with teachers around the U.S. and abroad, helping them find wiser ways of teaching writing.

Ralph's many books for students include picture books (Twilight Comes Twice, Hello Harvest Moon, and The Sandman), novels (Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Spider Boy), poetry (A Writing Kind of Day and Moving Day), and a memoir, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid. His novel Uncle Daddy was awarded the Christopher medal in 2002. He has also written a popular series of books for young writers including Poetry Matters, Live Writing, and A Writer's Notebook. Ralph lives with his family in New Hampshire. He is a strong environmentalist who believes we all must work together to live in a more sustainable way. His other passions include travel, good food, dark chocolate, growing orchids, and sports.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait November 15, 2003

By "elle05"

Format:Hardcover

Picture this: Sunday morning following Halloween. The living room is littered with boxes full of costumes that need to go back into the attic. Bags of candy adorn several tables. Wrappers adorn the floor. I get up early, before the others, to try to put the Halloween genie back into his bottle. One by one, the others rise and descend the stairs. I can see each foot and then the pj'd body appear on the stairs from where I'm sitting. Piled next to me are some books that arrived from amazon.com on Friday, unnoticed due to the holiday festivities.
Sarah, 6, has on only her pj bottoms (silky ones that she rubs when she sucks her thumb) and her hair bears just the remembrance of ponytails and bows. She climbs up into my lap and curls into her comfy spot like an old cat. As she sucks her thumb with one hand, she uses the other to pick through the books on the side table. She finds Hello, Harvest Moon and unearths it from the pile, ignoring the clatter of the other books falling to the floor.
"This one looks like a Halloween book. Hello.. har.. vessst.. moon, hello, harvest moon. Mom, will you read this one to me?"
I start to read.
Billy, 10, who had been reading another of the purchases on a loveseat across the room, looks up and then down and then up again, shutting his book. Sami, 17, who is puttering around in the kitchen making herself some breakfast, glides into the room and stands near my chair. As I read, the sounds of morning are silenced. When I finish, Billy gets up and continues with whatever he was doing and Sami heads back to the kitchen. I ask Sarah, "Well, what did you think? Did you like it?"
"Yes," she states emphatically, slimy thumb by her side. "I think it is a book of poetry. Seems like non-fiction, too...."

Readers of all ages who know Ralph Fletcher's work will not be disappointed with his new picture book, Hello, Harvest Moon. Many who know his book Twilight Comes Twice have been waiting for another book of its kind from Ralph. His poetic voice and beautiful sensory image writing are unmatched. Teachers in my school go back to his books over and over again to help young writers as they work on sound and imagery in their writing.

Hello, Harvest Moon speaks for itself. Listen to the sound and picture the images:

"sprinkling silver coins
like a careless millionaire
over ponds, lakes, and seas,
till all the money is spent.
.... you might catch the moonset:
a sleepy head

winking
falling
slow motion
onto its pillow." Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Moon November 12, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This book, like the Harvest Moon it celebrates, "...floods us with dreams and memories..." [page 29] through its magical complement of word and brushwork. The hauntingly lovely illustrations, which will captivate the eyes of the young and old, conduct us through a nature flight with a very special and unobtrusive guide whose words perfectly reflect the reverence and mystery of the visual experience.

A niggling complaint about the "facts" of the book ("The illustration look like New England ...and sea turtles nest at the furthest north in Virginia") suggests the reviewer has read the book and missed the experience. It is not a nature guide, but an exploration of nature's beautiful changes, and our emotional responsiveness, both in and out of nature. Einstein, for whom facts held some sway, nonetheless thought "Imagination...is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." I think one of my fellow reviewers has missed the magic of 'Hello, Harvest Moon' for the trees. The book is a marvelous accomplishment.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect November 23, 2007

By Country Meadow Village

Format:Hardcover

I am the program coordinator in a retirement home. We hosted a day with a local pre-school in October to celebrate Halloween. The school requested that we do something with a Harvest theme. This book was perfect. One of our wonderful "grandmothers" read this book to 35 eager little people. They loved it! Thank you Amazon for a good recommendation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really nice harvest story! October 14, 2007

By Maggie

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Our son and we really like this book a lot!!!
It is very hard in my opinion to find really beautiful children's books theses days, that do not talk down to children or assume they show no interest in the seasonal changes and nature anymore.
This book conveys autumn nights beautifully, we love to cuddle up in bed and read this!

9 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Get your facts October 20, 2003

By "royalston"

Format:Hardcover

The illustrations in this book are beautifully done and the text flows nicely but for an author and illustrator who are or were from New Hampshire and Vermont the facts are wrong for the areas seemingly depicted in the book. The illustration look like New England and moonflowers would prpbably have been killed by frost or would definitely be winding down, sea turtles nest at the furthest north in Virginia and would mostly be hatched out, and luna moths are long gone. There are lots of great things that occur around the harvest moon, these aren't some of them. Children's books should be factual even if they are fiction.