AWARDS

Society of Illustrators 1999
ABA Kids Pick of the List.  “This Land Is Our Land” Traveling Exhibition 2005-2007.

REVIEWS

From Publishers Weekly
Light emanates gracefully from Widener's (Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man) pleasing, stylized acrylic paintings, which inventively capture the dual settings of Jones's (Between Black Women) folksy tale and give dimension to its abundant, occasionally heavy-handed imagery. The narrative moves, a little choppily at first, between a shadow-filled city street, where Noni and her grandfather take a nighttime walk, and the Alabama countryside, where her grandfather grew up. Gazing at the moon, Grandaddy says it reminds him of "down home." Noni knows a story is coming, and one does. Lost on a dark night, GrandaddyAthen a young manApasses by a church and hears the choir rehearsing. At first the singers "sound like rocks hitting a rusty can," but then a soloist's voice rings out, "low and deep, and full, just like a brook in the Alabama woods." Captivated, he waits to meet the soloist, and straightaway knows she is the woman he will marry. After he walks her home, her tambourine jumps out of his hands and settles in the sky, "glowing and pouring light all over the night like butter running down the sides of a hot biscuit." For youngsters frightened of the dark, the book sheds some comforting light, but the densely metaphorical prose may make it hard to appreciate the image of the "tambourine moon" at this book's center. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Grade 1-3-A young African-American girl is frightened as she and her grandfather walk down a city street one evening, and Grandaddy comforts her by telling her of another dark night "down home" in rural Alabama. He recounts the night he met her Grandma Ismay and escorted her home from choir practice. On his way home, he realized that he still had Ismay's tambourine in his hand and after a while, he was shaking so hard that the round golden object shot right out of his hand, up into the sky, and became the full, yellow Alabama moon. The language is simple and strong, making use of similes and folk expressions to convey the loneliness of the empty city streets and the countryside on a moonless night. The richly colored acrylic paintings utilize golden yellow-the same yellow used for the tambourine and for the moon-as a visual counterpoint to the blue/black of the streets and countryside. The text appears on pages of the same golden yellow, sometimes with inset small pictures set opposite the pages of illustration. The loneliness and isolation of the scenery is beautifully evoked; the grandparents are also well portrayed in a stylized manner that is perfectly suited to the story. This title is best used for one-on-one sharing, at bedtime or any time.
Marian Drabkin, Richmond Public Library, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
In a heartfelt story from Jones, a moonlit night and a tambourine link the past and present for a little girl and her grandfather. While walking home one night, Noni is fearful about the way the city looks in the dark. To comfort her, Grandaddy tells her the story of how he met his wife, Grandma Ismay, on an even darker night back in Alabama. He was on his way home and came across a church where the choir was practicing. One voice was so strong and clear that he just had to wait for the doors of the church to open after practice so he could see the singer. He walked Ismay home, then found himself on the dark path alone, still carrying her tambourine. As often happens in family stories, a little magic has worked itself into the telling over the years; the tambourine trembled in his hand, then leaped into the sky, lighting it up with a honeyed glow, and he was no longer afraid. Noni accepts that the full moon they face now is that tambourine from long ago, and the city skyline has become a more welcoming place. Widener's illustrations capture the slate colors of the night sky, while his subdued tones in the city and country scenes turn the moon into a radiant lunar nightlight. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Children's Literature
In this touching tale within a tale, a young girl and her granddaddy walk home by the light of the moon in a big city. Young Noni fears the dark until Granddaddy tells her about one such night in Alabama. That night he met Ismay, the beautiful singer who became his wife. On his way home, the darkness scared him , so he played Ismay's tambourine until it rose up into the sky to become the moon. When Noni asks what happened to the tambourine, Granddaddy points to the moon overhead. This poetic tale shows the connections between generations while celebrating the beauty of family relationships. It's also a unique approach to the city vs. country dichotomy often portrayed in picture books. The illustrations are warm and inviting with a nice touch of humor.