Moonlight

By Jan Ormerod

Copyright 1982

 

Moonlight was one of my oldest daughter’s absolutely favorite books.  We read it together countless times.  Although, since this is a wordless book what we were reading was pictures and not words.  Wordless books used to frustrate me.  It was often so much easier, especially when one is as over-tired as the parent of a young child often is, to mindlessly read the text while the child follows the pictures.  This is the wordless book that changed my mind.  

It is the simple story of a little girl going through her typical evening rituals of dinner, playtime, bath, and bedtime, with her loving, patient parents.  One of my favorite pages shows her using scraps from supper – some fruit rinds – to fashion a sail boat that she will later bring to her bath.  In the background, her parents are quietly doing the dishes together.  I like that while the parents are working on a mundane chore, the child is using her creativity and imagination.  So typical, isn’t it?

More than with other stories, when looking at a wordless book, one is able to bring their own experiences into it.  The pictures will tell a different story when seen through the eyes of a child than when seen through the eyes of the parent.  The reader will notice all of the important details.  But the details that are important to each reader vary.  

This book is proof that words are not needed to tell a heartwarming tale.  In fact, isn’t it true in so many situations that words are not always necessary?