Mama in the Moon

by Doreen Cronin, Brian Cronin (Illustrator)

Overview

In this gentle and comforting bedtime book by two award-winning creators, a mama sloth helps her baby to self-soothe while she’s making her way back to him.

Baby sloth lives high up in the trees with his mama, where he loves to sleep between her and the moon. But one night he tumbles from her arms to land in a soft patch of leaves far below. “I’ll be there soon,” Mama sloth calls down to him. But sloths never get anywhere soon. When Baby becomes worried, Mama finds clever ways to reassure and distract him using his senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch.

This beautifully told and enchantingly illustrated preschool read-aloud has the happiest of endings. It’s a bedtime delight that’s perfect for fans of Owl Babies and Kitten’s First Full Moon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593698211
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Doreen Cronin is the author of many New York Times bestselling books, including Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo and its sequels (with 8.5 million copies sold and over 20 years in print); and Diary of a Worm and its sequels (7 million copies sold worldwide); as well as a host of other beloved picture books.

Brian Cronin is an internationally known illustrator whose work has appeared in the New York Times, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, and many other publications throughout the world. He won the Society of Illustrators' Founders Award for his first book, The Lost House, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Award for The Lost Picnic.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/22/2024

Baby Sloth loves sleeping nestled high up in a tree “between/ his mama/ and the moon.” When he tumbles to the ground, the tangerine-hued puffball lands in “a soft patch” of foliage, but he’s nevertheless beyond forlorn in the inky darkness. Regarding the silhouetted, tangled vegetation around him with wide, anxious eyes, he feels “far away from home./ Far away from Mama.” His mother quickly assures that she’s coming to the rescue, but a series of panels depicting the sloth’s glacially paced descent suggest that her arrival is likely to take a while. In response to her son’s repeated calls of “Are you close now, Mama?” she tells Baby to focus on the details around him. Collaborators the Cronins (Lawrence & Sophia) show how the smell of yellow flowers, the sound of pink worms wriggling in fallen leaves, and the feel of blue moths fluttering all seem to light up the darkness by dint of the little sloth’s budding powers of observation-as-self-regulation. By the time Mama’s long arm extends lovingly into the frame, Baby has proved a little wiser, a lot calmer—and fully worthy of emulation. Ages 2–5. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

★ “Collaborators the Cronins show how the smell of yellow flowers, the sound of pink worms wriggling in fallen leaves, and the feel of blue moths fluttering all seem to light up the darkness by dint of the little sloth’s budding powers of observation-as-self-regulation." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Brian Cronin expertly plays with shadow and light, the moon a guiding light. The shadowy, complex darkness results in a backdrop perfectly paired with the splashy hues of the night life.  For such concise writing, the book has many layers of story, which means that there’s plenty for readers of all ages to take from its pages." —Kirkus

From the Publisher

2024-01-20
After Baby sloth takes a tumble, he notices the nighttime life around him while waiting for his mama to retrieve him.

Baby sloth loves snuggling close with his mother up high in the trees as the moon looms overhead. But when he falls from the tree, he’s frightened. To calm and distract him as she makes her way down to get him, Mama points out the night’s beautiful sights: bright yellow flowers, wriggling pink worms, and brilliant blue moths. When Mama and Baby sloth are together again at last, all the colors erupt together, a symbolic celebration of the sloths’ love and reunion. Brian Cronin expertly plays with shadow and light, the moon a guiding light. The shadowy, complex darkness results in a backdrop perfectly paired with the splashy hues of the night life. Even Mama herself blends into the trees and darkness, while Baby’s peachy fur and pink nose draw readers’ eye and focus. For much of the book, Mama is obscured from readers, just as she is from Baby after his fall. For such concise writing, the book has many layers of story, which means that there’s plenty for readers of all ages to take from its pages.

A sweet, compelling tale of mother-child love. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews