Long Night Moon by Cynthia Rylant

The tradition of Native American moon-naming is beautifully portrayed in Rylant's Long Night Moon. Rylant's tribute to the naming of the moons was accurately and poetically versed on each page, with complementing illustrations of each month's phase. It seems as though both author and illustrator were clearly in tune with one another. Each written line, font color, and illustration worked so well together that it made the storyline flow very smoothly and rhymically. Rylant and Siegel's use of a circular plot is also found in Long Night Moon, while moving through each of the moon phases and seasons and demonstrating the growth of the mother and baby one year later.

An interesting resource that I found on students creating stories that contain circular plots is from www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/completing-circle-craft-circular-827.html. It is an excellent resource in instructing students to use the craft of a circular plot structure, while recommending books like Long Night Moon to incoporate in reading/writing workshop lessons. Here is a complete list of books that contain circular plots www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson827/Booklist.pdf

As I tried to determine just exactly what type of medium illustrator Mark Siegel chose, I found a

note the end of the book, surprisingly not from the author, but from Siegel himself. He states, "finding the right medium proved to be a challenge. I tried acrylics and then oils, but nothing came close to rendering the magic of Cynthia's words. Then I went outside. Over several months, I took many long walks by moonlight in the beautiful Rockefeller Farms, near Sleepy Hollow, New York. In my busy crowded life, I'd never given so much attention to moonlight: What is it like? How does it feel? What makes it so special? Eventually - and almost accidentally - charcoal revealed itself as the medium of choice. It returned me to that velvety mysterious light that softens everything, bathing nature in a dreamy luminosity. This dreamy luminosity appears in each full-page spread of dark blues, grays, black, and browns. His first-hand account of studying nature in this manner deeply impacted his ability to understand the moon phases, while gaining a further appreciation for what happens when the sun goes down.

Rylant's ability to capture the essence of the moon phases in such a way is breathtaking. Her words coupled with Siegels charcoal illustrations alter my perspective about nature and the magic that happens throughout the nighttime. Siegel states at the end of his note, "May the words and images of Long Night Moon offer a safe invitation to savor the night and celebrate its otherwise hidden wonders." I believe that although this story tells about the nighttime, children will find warmth, security, and beauty in the surroundings of moonlight.