Book of the Week: Thanking the Moon

This week's book is Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festivalby Grace Lin (32 pages, Knopf, 2010). As the name suggests, it's the ideal story to share with your children at this time of year, especially with the gorgeous "Super Harvest Moon" we've had in the night sky this past week.

Thanking the Moon is perfect for an early-autumn bedtime story. It follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the annual Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival, traditionally held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls in September or early October. Follow along as the family prepares its moon festival picnic with round moon-shaped fruits like pomelos and Asian pears (which we just happened to sample last week at Gabriel Farm in Graton). The young narrator and her sisters help bring out paper lanterns and pour tea, and the family eats traditional mooncakes.

The illustrations vibrant, cheerful, and fun, and draw young readers (or listeners) into the action of the story. It's both a wonderful introduction to and celebration of this colorful autumn tradition. The author also includes a section outside of the story that explains the cultural significance and traditions of the Moon Festival.

Find it at your local library, bookstore, or Amazon.com.