52 months - message is good but not overly captivating for O. ( )

Two creatures, June and August, meet in the dark night to admire the stars. They become friends and describe themselves so they can meet during the day. But will they be able to find each and are they too different to be friends?

This simple story of friendship and recognizing others' unique abilities and features is illustrated in a wildly surreal landscape of shooting stars, twisting jungles, and contrasting backgrounds.

I'm not sure how children will react to this story. The art and plot seem too complex, but even preschoolers should be able to grasp the idea of people's perceptions of themselves not always matching how others see them. They should also enjoy identifying the different animals.

Verdict: I'd like to test this on some actual children to see how they react. I believe there's been a lot of excitement over the art, but I'm a little doubtful about it.

ISBN: 0810984105; Published September 2009 by Abrams; Borrowed from the library