I'd like to think that moonlight is universal. After all, there is no place that is beyond its reach. Even the darkest cellar lives under the promise that its walls are constantly licked by faithful tongues of luminescent moonlight, every month.
I'd also like to think that many children pen their first lines of poetry, inspired by nature. Perhaps it was moonlight, for example, that nudged that first simile out of their nervous pencils. It certainly must have been the case for Helen Griffith, author of 'Moonlight', a enchanting poem-picturebook, where moonlight comes alive with simile and personification, taking the reader beyond yet-another-encounter, to a place where ordinariness takes on beauty.
This always takes a bit of slowing down; and who wouldn't? The sweetest invitation to please take your time here is offered by poetry, in both words and pictures. Who would refuse? Tarry a while here, consider the moonlight.
Teaching tip:
Students may find this a great mentor text for writing nature-inspired poetry. Teachers can also use this book to show students examples of a poet's craft; as both simile and personification are used skillfully here.
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