When the Moon Smiled, written and illustrated by Petr Horacek, tells the story of the moon lighting
the stars one by one in the night sky until everything is right with the world. The story is well-written, with a
warm, reassuring quality reminiscent of classic folktales.
Die-cut stars appear as they are lit by the moon for all the farm animals that haven't yet settled down for the night.
Starting at one and ending with 10, another star is added with every turn of the page, encouraging young readers to count along
as they go. The number of animals depicted in each colorful illustration reflects the number of stars presented on the same page,
reinforcing the numerical concept.
Congratulations to Petr Horacek for this excellent book. Although When the Moon Smiled is
subtitled "A Bedtime Counting Book,"
preschoolers will love reading this book at any time of day. I highly recommend it.
