Rabbit Moon by Jean Kim (January 30th, 2017).
This picture book is dreamy, with the coziest illustrations and story to match. It’s about animals sending wishes to the moon, the rabbit who turns them into stars, and finally, Rabbit setting out to the place those wishes come from to follow their own.
“What is it we wish tonight?”
In an author’s note at the beginning, Jean Kim tells readers that in Korea, “when we look at the full moon we see the outline of a rabbit standing next to a mortar…pounding rice into rice cakes.” Seeing the rabbit in a full moon is an invitation to make a wish. The story was inspired by that tradition, and it made her wonder if the rabbit might have a wish of their very own as well.
“Wishes fill the sky with light…”
I love the way paper airplanes are the way wishes travel to the moon in this book; the fuzzy, glowing quality of the illustrations; the idea of stars not as vehicles for wishes but as the embodiment of them instead, hopes we’ve let fly shining down on us.
“…twinkling in the starry night.”
There is a quest quality of the story and Rabbit’s journey takes a few different turns. And the last one, after Rabbit has had their friendship adventure, is especially sweet for a twilight read.
Rabbit Moon is a story of longing—for adventure and friendship and connection—a story of wishes come true.
Check out Jean Kim’s dummy with sketches of the book as well as more illustrations on her website.
Big thanks to Scholastic for images!
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I just had to make a wish-inspired craft to go with Rabbit Moon, a story so fitting for the beginning of a year! So, here is a simple wishes and stars mobile. The best part? You can write your wishes on paper airplanes and then watch them spin among the stars!
What you need:
Sturdy gold paper (painted cardboard or gold card stock would work)
Paper airplane paper (I used foil origami paper, but plain white paper would work too)
Sturdy blue thread
A hoop (I used a gold hoop from a craft store, an embroidery hoop would also work, or a hollowed paper plate!)
Gold threading beads (optional)
Scissors
A pen or pencil with which to write your wishes
A small hole punch (though I used a seam ripper and skewer to punch holes DIY style)
First, cut out stars. I traced one large one on white paper from the book, then cut that out and used it as a stencil to trace and cut out stars on the sturdy gold paper. (Repeated that process for a smaller version as well.)
Next, make some paper airplanes! Easy instructions here. (If using origami paper, you need to start with a rectangle versus the square shape.)
Write a wish inside each plane!
For the hoop, tie three equal lengths of string around it so the hoop is balanced, then join them together above in a knot. Use the leftover length to make a knotted loop for easy hanging.
Make holes in the stars and airplanes. Then, thread them through the string. If you want to add beads or several stars on one line of thread, make a knot to catch each one; add as many as you like. Finally, attach the star and airplane strings to the hoop with knots. Trim the long bits as a final touch.
Hang on a hook or doorknob or hanger! Voila!
You might also like these paper airplane Valentines inspired by Hearts by Thereza Rowe.
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This looks great – like a book you can really get lost in.
Well said! 🙂
I love how wonder often takes an author on a journey. Beautiful book!