“Hello, moon.
Goodbye, sun.
Night is near.
Day is done.

In my opinion, Julie Downing’s Hello Moon is a perfect short picture book. The literary theme of Night versus Day plays heavily in this book. But in Hello, Moon, the nighttime is not sinister or evil. It 

Dark versus Light – Night versus Day – Themes in Literature

In this book, the moon and the stars illuminate and thus soften the effects of the night. In fact, because of the moon’s glow and the starlight, the night setting takes on a tone of magic. 

Nature is another theme in Hello, Moon. Nature cradles the animals who face the night.

“Thunder roars!
Raindrops splash.”

But nature shelters it own:

Nature as a Theme in Literature

In Hello. Moon, the night world basks in the Lights of the Night.

The Moon & the Stars — Things That Light the Night

And I rarely say this about a rhyming picture book, but the rhyme is good.

Although Julie Downing has changed her illustrating style for Hello, Moon, the illustrations are still wonderful.

The above is a pond scene from Downing’s 2021 release Hello, Moon. Below is a pond scene in the picture book that she illustrated: Lotus & Feather.

Lotus & Feather was published on December 13, 2016.

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