How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale Collection) by Janet Ruth Heller

How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale Collection) Reviews

• 
  Renee

  My son and I reviewed this book for Mother Daughter Book Reviews. Here are excerpts from our reviews:
  
  SON SAYS:
  
  This book is about the moon who is dancing in the sky and then she crosses the sun who says mean things to her. She gets very sad and then goes to visit Round Arms on Earth who brings her to see people who love the moon. Then the moon feels happy again. I liked the pictures. I really liked the pictures of the changing moons in the corners of the pages. My favorite part of the book is when the comet comes because he has a boomerang in his hand and I like boomerangs. I really liked all of the story. I can’t pick just one part. I learned that everyone needs the moon. Everybody has someone who cares about them and loves them. I loved the book. It was a good story and it had really nice pictures. I think kids who are 5 years and older and their parents would like this book.
  
  
  MOM SAYS:
  
  My Thoughts:
  
  This book is truly a gem. Borrowing from Native American folklore, How the Moon Regained Her Shape tells the story of the moon who dances happily across the sky night after night until one day she crosses the sun who angrily tells her she is neither needed nor loved. This (literally) diminishes the moon who sinks into a depression and loses the will to walk along her skypath.
  
  Her friend, the comet, notices his friend the moon whose head hangs low and goes to visit her out of concern for her well-being. He recommends that she visits a woman on Earth called Round Arms who greets her warmly and showers her with affection and kindness. Round Arms demonstrates to the moon how she is appreciated and loved by many on Earth. Filled to the brim with joy, she once again becomes full. Poignantly…
  
  

  “Now, whenever someone insults her and she dwindles, she remembers her good friends on earth. Then the moon regains her strength and fullness.”

  
  
  How the Moon Regained Her Shape Inside waning crescentWhat a beautiful allegory to use the phases of the moon (from fullness to “a sliver of her former self”) as a metaphor for the effects of bullying. This is further illustrated by the phases of the moon found in the corners of the pages (as mentioned by my son above). When we first meet the moon, she is happily dancing across the sky and she is full. When the sun is mean to her, she begins her transformation into a waning gibbous (thank you for including images and definitions of each phase of the moon!). As the words continue to haunt her, she slips into a waning crescent until she is nearly invisible. But, as Round Arms shows her kindness, she then begins transforming into a waxing crescent, becoming fuller and fuller until she’s a “full moon” again (i.e., regains her self-esteem). The emotions experienced by the moon mimic the illustrations of the phases of the moon on each page. It is simply brilliant!
  
  Aside from the important lesson in the book about bullying, the illustrations in the book are unbelievably beautiful. Inspired by Native American art, illustrator Ben Hodson created the artwork for How the Moon Regained Her Shape using acrylic paints, handmade papers, old wallpaper, pencil crayons, gesso, and ink on watercolor paper. The result is page after page of visually stunning and inspiring artwork. My son spent about 20 minutes after we read the book just flipping through the pages looking at the pictures. I can’t rave enough about this gorgeous book!
  
  Finally, in the back of the book, there are a few wonderful add-ons. There is a whole unit on the moon and the phases of the moon. Further, in a nod to the importance of the moon in the First Nations/Native American culture, there is a calendar of the various names of the full moons depending on when they occur in a calendar year. And finally, there is a unit on bullying including ideas for who to deal with bullies. This is just such a great book and these add-ons are perfectly appropriate for the themes covered in the book.
  
  My Bottom Line:
  
  Based on Native American folktales, How the Moon Regained Her Shape does a brilliant job of using the phases of the moon as a metaphor for the impact of bullying on self-esteem. This book teaches us that insults and unkind words hurt, but that kindness and showing appreciation helps others feel “full” and happy. This simple message is magnificently illustrated through Native American-inspired art. I simply LOVED this book and I highly recommend it to teachers, librarians, and parents who would like to elicit a lively discussion about bullying. I think homeschoolers in particular would find value in this book and could identify a number of additional teaching points as well (e.g., Native American culture, science unit on the moon, etc.).
  
  * This book was provided to us by the author free-of-charge in exchange for our honest review.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Debbie

  This is only a "delightful" story (from the synopsis) if you have little interest in accurate information about American Indians.
  
  There are over 500 federally recognized tribal nations in the U.S., located all across the country. Our material culture (foods/houses/natural resources) are different, and so are our languages, and our origin stories. All of that beautiful and important diversity is lost when authors write "Native American" or "American Indian" books that suggest we are monolithic.
  
  We aren't. We're vastly different from each other.
  
  More details on what's wrong with this book are here:
  
  http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...
• 
  Shiloah

  Loved this legend of the moon!
• 
  Terry

  Kids will be drawn to this story by the bright, cheerful illustrations. Thanks to the information in the back, they can learn about the moon's cycles. Our daughter enjoyed looking at the illustrations, and we often stopped to answer her questions.
  Read on for more of our review.
• 
  Tye the librarian

  The artwork was very beautiful in this book.
  The description states this is based on folklore, but it kind of just felt like a parody of Native American folklore, which felt wrong to me. It was difficult to get passed that.
• 
  Nicole

  Genre: Traditional Tales, Folk tales
  Grade: K-2
  
  This Native American folktale of why the moon disappears and reappears was nice to read. In my opinion, this is a story about confidence, people needing elements in nature for different reasons, and the phases of the moon. I enjoyed this tale of how the moon regained her shape, the way that it was told by the Native American People. Tradition tales like these are ones that are passed down through the years and should be treasured. I know that other cultures have their own version of this story but this author wrote this book with calming, encouraging words and tone. I enjoyed the different textural patterns in the book as well. The same colors are used in the illustrations but the different patterns that are expressed bring the book to life.
  
  Lastly, this book could be used to discuss astronomy (phases of the moon, comets, and the sun).
• 
  K.L. Bernard

  As a child I loved reading folktales. These wonderful tales of lore always seemed so magical and made me curious about the world I lived in. Learning about different cultures and how everyday problems were solved is a great way to open up a child's mind. This tale of the moon brings the imagination to life while exposing an underlying story of bullying.
  
  There was a time when the moon was round and full. She was proud of her gentle light. The moon danced across the sky and on one particular night she danced across the face of the sun. The sun did not like the moon dancing across his face. The earth darkened and the sun spoke angry words to the moon. This made the moon very sad and she found she could not dance anymore. When the moon's friend comet saw that she had grown small he convinced her to visit a woman called Round Arms. The moon felt welcome in the woman's home. Round Arms showed the moon all of the creatures on earth who loved her and needed her light in the night sky.
  
  Round Arms led the moon to the home of Painted Deer, the artist. Painted Deer was drawing a picture of a forest at night.
  “ I miss the moon,” he said. “The light of the moon makes the forest dreamlike and beautiful, and that is what I want to paint.”
  The moon smiled and began to hold up her head.
  
  This wonderful Native American folktale is beautifully done. The illustrations are a superb work of art in this book. The underlying story helps young readers cope with bullying. The emotion gathered in the words and the art really incorporate the emotion of this story. Young readers will feel it and understand it. The back of the book has a moon observation chart that shows readers how the moon revolves around the sun and what they can expect to see. There are also projects and a chart that tracks the season of the full moon. A helpful guide for parents and teachers lists ways on how to avoid sticky situations and how not to show fear. Heller has done a spectacular job with expressing the need to stop bullying and how we can become involved in helping those who find themselves in an unpleasant situation.
  
  About the author:
  Janet Heller has a Ph.D. In English from the University of Chicago. She has published poetry, fiction, literary criticism, and essays. She teaches English and Women's Studies courses for Western Michigan University. She is President of the Michigan College English Association.
  
  About the illustrator:
  Ben Hodson won a Benjamin Franklin Award for this book's artwork in 2007. He also won a Book Sense Pick in 2006, a Children's Choices for 2007 award, and a Gold Medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards for 2007. This book was also a finalist for the Oregon Reading Association's 2009 Patricia Gallagher Picture Book Award.
  
  
  
• 
  Anneke Forzani

  Native folktale about the moon and it's importance. Unique illustrations make the book a multicultural delight!
• 
  Stacie

  How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet Ruth Heller is influenced by Native American folktales and uses the phases of the moon to teach children how to deal with bullies.
  
  Bullying is an ever growing problem and How the Moon Regained Her Shape takes a unique approach to show children how to regain confidence after dealing with put downs from a bully. The Sun insults to Moon and tells her how unimportant she is. The Moon begins to shrink away and unfortunately, believes the Sun's comments. A Comet sees how sad the Moon has become and shows the Moon the way to Round Arms' home. Round Arms helps the Moon to realize how important her role in this world is.
  
  How the Moon Regained Her Shape helps children to understand that the things a bully says are untrue and teaches them to seek out family and friends that love them for who they are.
  
  This award winning book should be shared in classrooms across the country. Educating children, from a young age, about bullying is the only way to put an end to this growing problem.
• 
  Bobbie Crawford

  How the Moon Regained Her Shape
  Written By: Janet Ruth Heller
  Illustrated By: Ben Hodson
  Published By: Sylvan Dell Publishing, SC, USA, 2006, First Edition, 32 pages, hardcover
  ISBN 978-0976494348
  
  How the Moon Regained Her Shape is a culturally-rich story which will educate children in a fun and interesting way. With topics including self-esteem, bullying, encouraging the ‘bullied’ seek help and various subjects about the moon. This book takes a fresh and enjoyable approach to issues which many children face on a daily basis once they start school and during many of the early, formative years onward. Included at the end of the book are 4 1/2 pages which teach the reader about: moon observations, fun ‘moon’ projects, the phases of the moon and...
  
  
  **Please follow the link to read the whole review:
  
  http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress....
• 
  Barbara Ann

  This book is a Native American folktale about how the moon got its phases. It also is a book about bullying friendship and self esteem. It can be related to core curriculum standards and provides links to math, reading, writing and science activities. Great for homeschooling. Target audience 6-10. E book available in Spanish.
• 
  Chelsea Bucci

  Great book to read during a unit on the Solar System. It teaches readers about the phases of the moon.
  Reading level for 3rd-4th grade. Easy to incorporate a language arts extension from this book and have students discuss concepts such as self worth and self-confidence.
  
• 
  Judy

  This is influenced by Native American folklore, but that's it. I'd rather stick with original folk tales instead of confusing the issue. The story is okay and the art colorful, but it's probably most appropriate for classroom use or to initiate a discussion about bullying.
• 
  Alisha

  I really liked this. A perfectly feminist book. Women and the moon. It was great.
• 
  Julie Suzanne

  Combine a lesson on healing from bullying with the moon cycle in this sweet short picture book (good elementary read-aloud). Filled me with warmth!