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Moonbird

Name: Moonbird
Author: Joyce Dunbar, Jane Ray
ISBN: 9780552550031

by Joyce Dunbar, Jane Ray

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Overview

Moonchild was blowing bubbles. Big, pearly moon bubbles they were, floating off into outer space.

Some burst upon the spikes of stars. Some floated all the way to earth and burst wherever they landed.
A Moonchild blows a bubble that pops on an Earth baby and surrounds him in silence. His parents, a King and Queen, are devastated when they realize that their baby cannot hear or speak. But a Moonbird teaches the little prince how to use his hands and eyes to communicate. This is a beautifully told story, exquisitely illustrated by Jane Ray.

From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author, Joyce Dunbar, Jane Ray

Joyce Dunbar, who is profoundly deaf, is a widely respected author of more than fifty books for children. Her Mouse and Mole series has been adapted for television and her lyrical re-telling of the Nativity story, This is the Star, received widespread critical acclaim.

Jane Ray is well known internationally for her instantly recognizable style. Her first picture book A Balloon for Grandad was shortlisted for the Mother Goose Prize.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorials

Kirkus Reviews

From the magical land of the silvery bubble-blowing Moonchild, a bubble popping in little Prince Orla's ear suddenly makes him profoundly deaf. His worried, joyless parents hire several ineffectual fools to restore their son to their hearing world. The most ridiculous looking one is ready to tie elephant-sized ears on the prince's head. The royal soothsayer understands immediately that the child comprehends the world with his eyes, and the soothsayer is commandingly credible, because he wears magical symbols: star, tree and bird. Graceful Moonbird comes to the rescue, flying the prince to a magical school where a gazelle and silver monkey teach him "eye music," and tell him he can teach his parents hand talking and silent mouthing. However, his parents are clueless until Moonchild blows an enormous bubble that bursts over their kingdom, changing their intricate yet barren landscape and their hearts. Ray's luminous art and lyrical text are heavy with symbolism: Those who understand sign language and the powers of observation are adorned in the most silver trees, birds and stars, and others find adornment as they learn. Young readers will understand with help the clear message that sign language education for children who are deaf is essential to their healthy growth, and that it is a tremendous step forward for all people to increase their observation skills to learn it. But this heavy, controversial message won't be swallowed easily. (Picture book. 5-7)