On The Bookshelf: Full Moon Greetings

Welcome back to the “On The Bookshelf” newsletter, meant to share a love of storytelling, upcoming author events with me, Samantha Cora, projects, and favorite reads — especially picture books. I hope this month’s issue will be a lunar treat!

“Mama! The moooooooon!”

It was shortly after 8 a.m. last month when my toddler exclaimed this from her carseat while we were driving to school.

“Oh, honey. That’s the sun,” I said, quickly instructing her not to look directly at the eye-scorching star. Apparently she spent the rest of the day shielding her face — even indoors. ;)

Why the confusion? The night before, we watched the full moon rise in the eastern sky above the homes in our neighborhood. It was bright yellow then, too.

Z loves the moon. Every phase. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this. One search of “moon” on my phone brings up dozens of photos like these ever since we knew we were expecting — from outfits to decorations and, of course, books.

A child’s excitement over what could seem mundane to many of us as adults is refreshing, and I’m grateful to have that perspective helping me refocus and pay attention to the simple beauty all around us.

And even when nights are completely dark, I know the moon is still there and giving the stars in the sky more room to shine.

This week’s full moon (peaks Wednesday morning but might be easier to see tonight) is sometimes called the Snow Moon — and we finally have SNOW in the forecast! In mid-March, we may have an opportunity to see a lunar eclipse during the Worm Moon.

The date of the full moon, Feb. 12th, is also the birthday of Charles Darwin (Feb. 12, 1809), the scientist whose discoveries in the Galapagos Islands helped shape our understanding of evolution (learn all about it in the nonfiction backmatter of Waverly Braves the Breeze: The Story of a Galapagos Albatross). According to darwinday.org, International Darwin Day is a day of celebration, activism, and international cooperation for the advancement of science, education, and human well-being.

One of my favorite spreads of the book, illustrated by Rosie Eve, is at the end featuring a full moon near the Crux constellation, known as the Southern Cross. It got me thinking about how frequently I see the moon in other children’s books, too.

On a particularly chilly day in January, Z and I sorted through the dozens of the books in our house to find ones that showed a picture of a moon or had the word in the title. I was astounded at how many we found just from our collection alone: over 25!

Here are some of my favorite illustrations and passages from some of these books, including by my friends and fellow Wisconsin authors Alina Loux and Kitty O’Meara!

I’m also super excited that my friend Tracy Phillippi shared this sneak peek of one of the pages of her debut picture book, “The Wild Island: An Adventure at Isle Royale National Park,” illustrated by Susan Majewski.

Stay tuned for a spring publication date, and save the date for May 10th when you can meet me, Tracy, and Alina all at once to hear our stories at a special nature and author event in Monona. In the meantime, you can catch us on the fourth Friday morning of each month for the Lakeside Children’s Book Writers meetup in Madison.

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite books featuring the moon! And if you get photos of the full moon, it would be special to see those, too!

Evening Storytimes in Dane County

What better way to see the night sky and find the moon and stars than on a walk or drive to your local library, or a road trip to another library you’ve never visited before!

I’ve added a new page to the end of the Winter Storytimes Guide that compiles all of the free evening and pajama storytimes that I could find at Dane County libraries through March 2025, including a special star PJ storytime on Feb. 20th at the library in McFarland!

As always, please check the websites to verify details before attending (I’m only human, and mistakes happen). And if you hear of others, please let me know! Thanks!

Upcoming Events

I’m excited to be part of these upcoming events, where I’ll either be reading or speaking about my children’s book or doing a storytime for kids with some favorite nature books from my home collection through my organization Playful Acorns. Events with * are free and open to the public. Events with ~ have an optional nature walk if weather permits.

• ~Feb. 27 (Thursday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.): Musical Playdate with The Wonder Studio and Playful Acorns (geared toward ages 0-5 with caregiver), Seven Acre Dairy, Paoli ($20/family, register in advance).
• *March 1 (Saturday from 2-5 p.m.): Spotlight on the Arts - various locations in Verona (I’ll be at Verona Area Community Theater, with a portion of book proceeds going toward the new nonprofit ART House 360).
• March 6 (Thursday from 3:30-7:30 p.m.): Local author and illustrator night at a Lake Mills school.
• March 10 (Sunday): Author Fair at Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association Conference in Brookfield.
• ~March 18 (Tuesday from 3:30-4:30 p.m.): Nature-themed Yoga and Music Class with Lagom and Playful Acorns (geared toward ages 0-5 with caregiver), Badger Rock Neighborhood Center, Madison ($16/family, register in advance).
• ~March 19 (Wednesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.): Musical Playdate with The Wonder Studio and Playful Acorns (geared toward ages 0-5 with caregiver), Seven Acre Dairy, Paoli ($20/family, register in advance).
• *April 10 (Thursday from 9:30-10 a.m.): Friendly Foxes storytime guest author (geared toward ages 2-5 with caregiver, all ages welcome), Monona Public Library.
• *~April 30 (Wednesday from 9-10 a.m.): Birding with Babies storytime and guided hike with Playful Acorns, LC Babywearing, and Village of Cottage Grove Library Board, McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park, Cottage Grove.
• *~May 10 (Saturday morning): Local author and nature event in Monona — more details coming soon!

Do you know of a daycare, school, library, or bookstore that may want to host me for an in-person or virtual event? Or do you want to purchase a signed copy of my book? Please reply to this email! Thank you for your support!