What do you think?
Rate this book
When the Moon Is High
Daddy's arms are
warm and wide.
Someone snuggles up inside
to watch the moon
wrap silver light
around the wide
and wakeful night.
Baby can't sleep tonight, and Daddy has a plan to relax them a nice moonlit walk. But it's not just baby and Daddy who are out and about. The night has an entire cast of friendly animals that hoot, tussle, and snoop when the moon is high. Alice Schertle's wonderful guess-who poem is matched perfectly with Julia Noonan's dreamy illustrations in this soothing bedtime promenade.
warm and wide.
Someone snuggles up inside
to watch the moon
wrap silver light
around the wide
and wakeful night.
Baby can't sleep tonight, and Daddy has a plan to relax them a nice moonlit walk. But it's not just baby and Daddy who are out and about. The night has an entire cast of friendly animals that hoot, tussle, and snoop when the moon is high. Alice Schertle's wonderful guess-who poem is matched perfectly with Julia Noonan's dreamy illustrations in this soothing bedtime promenade.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2003
19 people want to read
About the author
Alice Schertle
78 books190 followersAlice Schertle has written more than 40 books, mostly for children. A mother and former elementary school teacher, Ms. Schertle is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Many of her most famous works are poetic in nature, though she writes about a wide variety of topics.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 23, 2017
This is a good read-aloud book because you can ask kids which animal they think is next. I had a little girl say, "Aw, that was sweet" at the end of this book during one of my storytimes. Also, anything that involves dads is a win in my book. They don't get enough attention or (good, respectable) representation.
April 10, 2017
Gorgeous illustrations and a wonderful goodnight story.
April 17, 2021
What I liked most about this book is the art work. The baby was adorable and the dad seemed younger. I feel like dad's in picture books are often represented kind of old and sometimes goofy. It is so cute how the dad takes the baby outside for a walk. Very tender>
June 17, 2015
The soothing and hypnotic nighttime imagery in Alice Schertle’s When the Moon Is High will help young children make a smooth transition into dreamland. Perfect for a bedtime reading, When the Moon is High is a single poem picture book that describes the sounds and creatures of the night. A young child cries out for his father in the night and is taken for a walk around the yard. Along the way, father and child meet many creatures and critters under the light of the moon. Each animal is introduced by the sound or motion that it makes, and Schertle asks the reader to guess the creature’s identity: “Who’s that on the wild wind riding,
dipping, gliding when the moon is high?”
Each picture gives the child a hint to aid in guessing, and the answer is revealed for each instance upon turning the page.
“Owl is on the wild wind riding,
dipping, gliding when the moon is high.”
Young children will delight in the repetitive, refrain-like flow of the poem, as it describes an owl, mouse, cat, raccoon, and skunk, among other creatures. They will also shine at the chance to participate as they guess identities. Indeed, Schertle seems to be directly asking the child listener for an answer. The hypnotic rhyming pattern of the poem will also evoke a response in young children, who have a natural affinity and enjoyment for sound and rhythm play. This poem may be slightly different from other rhyming verse that children may be familiar with, in that the rhyme is found in the middle of the second line of a couplet, rather than at the end. This somewhat more sophisticated construct helps the poetry to maintain its flow and hypnotic nature. As School Library Journal notes, “The quiet rhythm of the language and the repetition of phrases offer a serenity that pacifies listeners” (Amazon.com 2004). The repeated phrase “when the moon is high” is a continual thread that establishes stability and continuity within the poem.
Julia Noonan’s peaceful paintings reflect the soothing nature of the text. The paintings are infused with a rich realism, with human figures that are startlingly lifelike in their eyes and facial features. The animals are a little less realistic looking, having more of a cute nature to them. Muted greens and soft midnight blues are appropriate color choices for the night landscape, and plants and creatures are cloaked in shadows. The hints given in the illustrations about the animals are neither too easy, nor too difficult. The pictures are an essential part of the book in this respect, as the guessing game could not really be played without them. There does seem to be a small amount of unevenness in the portrayal of the father and child. Some of the paintings of the two are very sophisticated, while others seem to be more simplified and less refined. Overall, the tone of the pictures is peaceful and calm. The cute nature of the animals keeps them from being too scary or mysterious for nervous children. This book would be an appropriate choice for a preschooler’s bedtime story.
dipping, gliding when the moon is high?”
Each picture gives the child a hint to aid in guessing, and the answer is revealed for each instance upon turning the page.
“Owl is on the wild wind riding,
dipping, gliding when the moon is high.”
Young children will delight in the repetitive, refrain-like flow of the poem, as it describes an owl, mouse, cat, raccoon, and skunk, among other creatures. They will also shine at the chance to participate as they guess identities. Indeed, Schertle seems to be directly asking the child listener for an answer. The hypnotic rhyming pattern of the poem will also evoke a response in young children, who have a natural affinity and enjoyment for sound and rhythm play. This poem may be slightly different from other rhyming verse that children may be familiar with, in that the rhyme is found in the middle of the second line of a couplet, rather than at the end. This somewhat more sophisticated construct helps the poetry to maintain its flow and hypnotic nature. As School Library Journal notes, “The quiet rhythm of the language and the repetition of phrases offer a serenity that pacifies listeners” (Amazon.com 2004). The repeated phrase “when the moon is high” is a continual thread that establishes stability and continuity within the poem.
Julia Noonan’s peaceful paintings reflect the soothing nature of the text. The paintings are infused with a rich realism, with human figures that are startlingly lifelike in their eyes and facial features. The animals are a little less realistic looking, having more of a cute nature to them. Muted greens and soft midnight blues are appropriate color choices for the night landscape, and plants and creatures are cloaked in shadows. The hints given in the illustrations about the animals are neither too easy, nor too difficult. The pictures are an essential part of the book in this respect, as the guessing game could not really be played without them. There does seem to be a small amount of unevenness in the portrayal of the father and child. Some of the paintings of the two are very sophisticated, while others seem to be more simplified and less refined. Overall, the tone of the pictures is peaceful and calm. The cute nature of the animals keeps them from being too scary or mysterious for nervous children. This book would be an appropriate choice for a preschooler’s bedtime story.
August 16, 2011
I think the bothersome part of this book for me was that it didn't represent the animals' true nature. I feel like it almost encourages readers to approach these animals as though they welcome company, and many of them don't. A raccoon and a possum, while intelligent and noble creatures, are hardly the sort of animals that takes kindly to human visitation. I think this book would have been better if it afforded the animals the personal space that they require.
June 30, 2009
really really enjoyed this book. It was really sweet and it is something I would read to my children. Really good book!
January 29, 2010
Very cute bed time story with adorable illustrations.
December 1, 2010
Very cute bed time story with adorable illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews