Today Caramel is reviewing a beautiful book by Mark Shasha: Night of the Moonjellies, originally published in 1992. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, for your last review before we take some time off for the summer, you chose to talk about this book.
Caramel: Well, you told me that summer officially starts on June 21 this year and told me we should talk about a summer book. I thought this would work well.
S: Yeah, this is a very nice picture book about the summer season.
C: Apparently, it is not even fully fiction! This book is about the author’s life. He is telling us things that have or might have happened when he was a kid.
S: Yeah, it might be a bit nostalgic then. Do you know what nostalgic means?
C: Yeah, it means a thing that evokes a sense of remembering a good thing?
S: Yeah, there is a feeling of sadness, about missing the past. The book is about a time that the author experienced as a child. So it is something he remembers fondly, from his past.
C: That makes sense. The book is about his family when he was growing up in Connecticut. His grandma, his uncle, his aunt, all his family are running a hot dog stand together, and he finds a moon jellyfish on the beach, and his grandma tells him to put it in a bag with water, so it doesn’t die. And then he tells us about his day. They make food for customers, and it is really busy.
S: And the boy is always helping out and kind of cheerful, right?
C: Yeah, he seems like a nice kid. And he seems like he really enjoys working together with his family and helping them out. All of them know what they need to do and they do it.
S: Cool! But the book is titled “Night of the Moonjellies” so eventually we should get to the night, right?
C: Yeah, at night his grandma takes him on a kind fisherman’s boat, and they release the moon jellyfish, and they see the ocean glow from the jellies; they make the night sea sparkle and look so pretty.
S: Yes! I think that how the jellies came together to make the ocean so pretty is kind of like how the boy and his family worked all day together in harmony to make something good happen.
C: Yeah. I didn’t think of that, but it makes sense.
S: Kind of like, my family and I, together we make something neat, and the jellies, they make something neat with their families, too.
C: Yeah, I can see that. But I think even without making a connection like that, I am sure the sea must have looked awesome!
S: Yeah, one would probably not forget such a sight.
C: Yeah, if I saw such a thing, it would be so cool! I’d definitely remember it forever, too.
S: Do you remember something like that? Have you ever seen something in nature that awed you? That moved you so deeply?
C: No, I don’t think so, but it would have been cool.
S: Actually I remember you seeing something and being that awed. Some years ago, we were in Japan. We were so lucky to be there during the cherry blossom season. And you were a tiny little bunny, but your awe, your thrill, your joy were all so visible.
C: Oh, wait, I do remember that, how did I not remember that?
S: Well, maybe you were trying to think of experiences on the ocean. Or anything during the summer. The cherry blossoms were very much in the spring. And they were so beautiful! You definitely remember them now, right?
C: Yep. That’s why I think I didn’t come up with it immediately. But yeah, the cherry blossoms were so beautiful..
S: We don’t get to have too many such experiences. Sometimes beautiful things just happen and we don’t see them. We are too busy, too distracted. But when they do happen and you witness them, it is important to take note. I hope you will always remember the cherry blossoms.
C: Yeah, I will try. I’ll try to never forget.
S: Okay, Caramel, so do you think this is a good time to wrap up our review?
C: Sure.
S: So what do you want to say to our readers then?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
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