Autumn Moon

Children's Literature

This fascinating collection of three tales is one of the "Seasons of the Moon" series named for the thirteen new or full moons that occur each calendar year in our solar-based calendar. Originally published in 1969 as individual volumes, each tale bears the name of the North American animal it honors. Most are nocturnal; many are endangered. Jean Craighead George, a noted naturalist and recipient of the Newbery Medal, creates a vivid picture of each animal's habitat. In the "Moon of the Deer," set in a salt-water marsh on the Connecticut shore, readers watch as a young buck challenges an older male for territory and struggles to survive a devastating hurricane. In "The Moon of the Alligators," set in the Florida Everglades, readers accompany a six-foot, female alligator as she searches for food to quell a gnawing hunger. And in "The Moon of the Gray Wolves," set in the mountains of the Alaska Range north of Anchorage, readers witness the prowlings of a wolf pack as they hunt and kill a caribou and try to protect their pups from danger. 2001 (orig. 1969), HarperCollins/HarperTrophy, Braaf