Moonlight Prance/Sunlight Dance - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

Okay, so not a picture book. And actually two books. But these wonderful novelty board books are so fun and wonderful celebrations of nature, life, and movement that they are worth highlighting. I hope you all agree.

Moonlight Prance

Author: Serena Gingold Allen

Illustrator: Teagan White

Publisher: Chronicle Books (2022)

Ages: 0-3

Fiction

Themes:

Nocturnal animals, movement, and bedtime.

Synopsis:

In this sweet and interactive bedtime read-aloud—with the rollicking rhyme of Sandra Boynton's Barnyard Dance! and the bedtime themes of Sleep Like A Tiger by Mary Logue—young readers can make skunks scamper and possums prance with each push of a durable novelty element.

When you rest your head at night, nocturnal animals awake to dance and play! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make foxes frolic and hedgehogs hustle in this sweet, interactive tale of nighttime fun.

A charming and interactive bedtime read-aloud, young children will delight in moving the durable novelty elements, making the illustrations transform through their efforts.

Opening Lines:

While you sleep, nighttime animals play.

They wake at dusk with sun's last ray.

Sunrise Dance

Author: Serena Gingold Allen

Illustrator: Teagan White

Publisher: Chronicle Books (2022)

Ages: 0-3

Fiction

Themes:

Daytime animals, movement, and play.

Synopsis:

Make salmon splash and bear cubs bustle with each push of a durable novelty element in this sweet and interactive morning read-aloud.

When you wake up in the morning, playful animals are starting their day! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make dragonflies dance and bear cubs bustle in this sweet, interactive tale of morning-time fun.

A charming and interactive bedtime read-aloud, young children will delight in moving the durable novelty elements, making the illustrations transform through their efforts.

Opening Lines:

When you awake with sun's first ray,

Playful animals are starting their day.

What I Liked about these books:

As a fun matched set, these two novelty board books aim to make moving fun for kids; using alliteration and dance/movement words for nocturnal - "Skunks scamper...catfish cavort...and badgers boogie-woogie all night long" and daytime - "Wrens wriggle....rabbits revel....and marmots mambo through the morning dew" animals.

At times realistic - racoons and moths start the evening moving about the yard and squirrels and deer start the morning at the edge of the woods.

At others fantastical - porcupines playing instruments marching in a parade and salamanders entertain a turtle playing pan pipes and maracas.

Using rhyming couplets, both of these books capture the various animals that move about while kids sleep and the ones they can see throughout their day in a way to make them entertaining, but also educational. For instance, in Sunrise Dance, in addition to exploring the myriad of animals active from dawn to noon, each spread also explores their habitats. Teagan White's flower decked meadow and mushroom and berry woodlands are full of gorgeous details and so much activity surrounding the focal animals - from foraging ants to falling leaves. Likewise, in Moonlight Prance, the animals roam through empty parks and raid manicured gardens trash bins (cheers, raccoons).

The delightful watercolor illustrations, which gradually shift in hues (from deep, dark night to a hint of purple or from a faint purple to a sunny afternoon), combine adorably cute animals and awesome interactive elements (dials, levers, and pull tabs). I love the pull tab in Sunrise Dream which reveals a sweet woodpecker AND a bear cub playing a guitar. And the pull tab in Moonlight Prance which reveals that the hedgehog waving at a "hidden" cat as it scurries off with a strawberry.

Each book ends with a child - one dreaming through the night and one about to head outside on an adventure. These books are wonderful, interactive bedtime, or any snuggle time, reads. Perfect read alouds to start an interest in animals - especially where they live and when they are active. As well as fun books to get kids playing with movement words - dancing and prancing on their own. These are fun books for more than just tiny readers.

Resources:

- make a couple of instruments and create your own parade or dance party with friends or family (https://artsycraftsymom.com/diy-musical-instruments-for-kids-to-make-and-play/).

- write or draw your own story about animals. What fun movements or different dance moves would your animals do?

- check out author Serena Gingold Allen's newsletter for a ton of craft and food activities around each of the animals in both books.

If you missed the interview of Serena Gingold Allen and Teagan White on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.