THE MOON CAME DOWN ON MILK STREET
By Jean Gralley
Henry Holt, 2004
Category: Picture book
I picked this book up because of this review by Mary Cronin. We New Englanders have been dealing with calamity of our own, in the form of brutal ice and endless snow, and I wondered if this book that Mary spoke of so highly might help us—especially the youngest amongst us—to process this events of the past two weeks.
It will.
I was struck by the simple solace of the book’s frontispiece: “Fred Rogers has said that when he was a child, if he ever came across a car accident or some other terrifying scene, his mother would tell him, ‘Look for the helpers.’” In her book, Jean Gralley builds on this concept and creates a wonderful tribute to helpers everywhere … and the perfect antidote to scary times.
I’ll be using THE MOON CAME DOWN ON MILK STREET next month in Book Bunch, a picture book read-aloud class I run in the After School program here in town each winter. What a wonderful way for the students and I to reflect together on this wild and sometimes scary month.
Thank you Fred Rogers, thank you Jean Gralley, and thank you Mary Cronin!