From Publishers Weekly
"Clear moon, snow soon./ An old man in red will come to visit/ when I'm in bed." Johnston's (Cat, What Is That?) rhythmic account of a boy's anticipation on Christmas Eve borders on slight, but Porfirio (Happy Birthday, America!) expands and embroiders the premise in realistic oil paintings that offer a visual subplot. Each turn of the page tantalizes readers with glimpses of Santa (his shadow, his silhouette on the rooftop, his reflection in the tree ornaments), until, finally, the boy imagines catching the man in the act well, his boots anyway, disappearing up the chimney. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
reS-K-Like oversized Christmas cards, the oil-painted illustrations for this brief soliloquy are familiar and predictable. Santa flies his sleigh over snowy rooftops, a child peers from his bedroom window, then creeps down the festooned stairwell at night. However, if the pictures offer no surprises, Johnston's poetic text, with "crinkling presents," "the old man in red" dancing barefoot on the roof humming "his old, old song" gives the story a uniqueness all its own. With Clear Moon, children can relive the delicious anticipation of Santa's arrival, and even catch a memorable peek at him.-S. P.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
