Love, Sophia on the Moon

by Anica Mrose Rissi, Mika Song (Illustrator)

Overview

Life on Earth isn't always fair, so Sophia runs off to the moon, where there are no bedtimes, no time-outs, and no Mom.


But as Sophia and her mom send letters to each other, Mom has a clever comeback for all of Sophia's angry notes. Home starts to sound not-quite-so-bad, especially when Mom reports that someone from the moon has moved in to Sophia's old room, they're having spaghetti for dinner, and they're reading Sophia's favorite story at bedtime.


A through line of unconditional love underscored with lots of humor and imagination makes this picture book a stellar pick for storytime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368022859
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	562,297
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, where she read a lot of books and loved a lot of pets. She now tells and collects stories, makes up songs on her violin, and eats lots of cheese with her friends in Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives with her dog, Arugula. She is also the author of Out for Wolf!, illustrated by Charles Santoso, The Teacher's Pet, illustrated by Zachariah OHora, and the Anna, Banana chapter-book series. Find out more at anicarissi.com and the author invites you to follow her @anicarissi on Instagram and Twitter.

Mika Song grew up in Manila, Philippines and Honolulu, Hawaii before moving to New York to study at Pratt Institute. Before devoting herself to writing and illustrating children's books, she worked in children's educational animation. In 2015, she received the Portfolio Award at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Winter Conference in NYC. Some of her books include A Friend for Henry, written by Jenn Bailey, and Tea with Oliver and Picnic with Oliver, both of which she wrote and illustrated. She invites you to visit her online at mikasongdraws.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/25/2019

This epistolary story opens with Sophia sitting in a time-out that she is not going to take lying down. In her first letter following the incident, she informs her mother that she’s headed to the moon with her orange cat, Mr. Wubbles. “Don’t try to stop me,” she writes. “Oh no!” Mom replies. “That’s a shame. I was about to make cookies. Now who will lick the beater?” Sophia frolics in Song’s (Ho’onani Hula Warrior) purple-hued lunar landscape, dancing through the sky with floating “moonicorns.” But when Mom announces that she’s found a new occupant for Sophia’s bed—a moon kid named Grorg—her daughter begins to show signs of homesickness beneath her enthusiastic exterior. Gradually, the clever, unhurried parent wins her daughter back—but, in a nice twist, is willing to meet Sophia right where she is, both emotionally and spatially. Text by Rissi (Watch Out for Wolf!) gently portrays the stubborn flight and the resulting plight of a frustrated child, and a mother whose measured responses and funny nuggets of rhetoric show that she loves her child to the moon—and “all the way back.” Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, DeFiore & Co. Illustrator’s agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Amazon's Best Books of April 2020
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"A gentle, even adorable reminder for children that their parent still loves them even if they yell.... Readers will love it to the moon and back."—Kirkus Reviews


"Gently portrays the stubborn flight and the resulting plight of a frustrated child, and a mother whose measured responses and funny nuggets of rhetoric show that she loves her child to the moon-and 'all the way back.'"—Publishers Weekly

* "Tender, funny.... Captures the determination and obstinacy of children and the steady, unwavering love of a parent."
—BookPage, starred review

From the Publisher

2019-10-27
Life is not fair on Earth, so Sophia runs away to the moon.

When young Sophia is put in timeout, she decides to head for the moon. Leaving a note for her mom, she boards a rocket with her cat, Mr. Wubbles. In letters home to her mom, Sophia shares all the great things about the moon: a new friend they've made, riding moonicorns, having no bedtime, and eating starlight soup. Her mom writes letters back, making subtle comments trying to convince Sophia to come home. She tells Sophia she's making cookies, then she offers the cows that jump over the moon Sophia's bed to sleep in, and finally she invites Grorg, a moon runaway, to have spaghetti and stay the night. Sophia eventually invites her mom to bring Grorg back to the moon, thinking he might be moonsick, leading to a happy reunion. Related exclusively in the series of letters between Sophia and her mom, this is a gentle, even adorable reminder for children that their parent still loves them even if they yell. Song's illustrations, figures drawn with her characteristically thick, smudgy black line, add a bounty of extra details to the story, especially in the pictures of Sophia's mom at home, with glimpses into Sophia's room. The gentle, pastel colors of the moon add to the sweetness of this mother-daughter reconciliation story. Mom and daughter both have tan skin and straight, black hair; Sophia's eyebrows are fabulously emphatic.

Readers will love it to the moon and back. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews

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