Monday, May 03, 2010

Review: "The Sun and The Moon", Brian McClure

The Sun and the Moon”,  Author: Brian D. McClure, Illustrated By: Buddy Plumlee, Hardcover: 36 Pages, Universal Flag, Lisle, IL, 2008

Advertised as a book for children ages from 1 to 100, “The Sun and the Moon” can be enjoyed by the entire family. One Sunday afternoon, I read the book to my assembled family. This diverse and picky group of people loved Mr. McClure’s story. Adding to their enjoyment was the ending: “We are One.”

An argument between the two old friends – the Sun and the Moon – caused the earth to freeze. Then as the two heavenly bodies began to feel out-of-sorts, they became sad. Upon hearing a sound from the earth, the Sun and the Moon saw how much the earth was suffering because of their stupid fight. Realising how they, the earth, you, and I are all interconnected, the Sun and Moon apologized to each other. Then together, they restored the earth to wholeness again.

I shall not tell you what the sound was that the Sun and the Moon heard. You will need to find that out by reading the book yourself. I shall give you a clue though -- it came from you and me.

Sitting with my child, as we looked at the illustrations, we felt that we too were a part of the story. The Sun and the Moon both looked like what we can see outside our window. Their faces of anger, sadness, and joy were done in subtle brush strokes by Mr. Plumlee. Because of his art work, we could easily connect to them and the other characters in the book.

As the illustrations help us to be a part of the story, so does the writing. Mr. McClure asks us to consider our feelings of fear. Feeling afraid, we would rather fight with each other, than remain friends. However once we realise that we are One, our fear will leave us.

As the book states, “It happened one day right out of the blue,
the Sun told the Moon he was tired and through.
"What do you mean?" the Moon asked the Sun,
"That would be the end of everything, and that wouldn’t be fun!"

Read for yourself. Better yet, read out loud for your family to hear. Even better read with a child. Enjoy the feeling of Oneness with the Universe, and the serenity that this book brings.


You can purchase this book and others directly from UniversalFlag, the author’s website, UniversalFlag
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