Milky Way

PreS-Gr 2--Charming, stylized illustrations bring saturated color to a story of the waxing and waning moon, set in a northern region of India bordering Tibet. A smiley boy named Tashi befriends the moon and, in a narrative arc reminiscent of Eric Carle's Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, grows distressed as the moon slowly disappears. This debut offering uses text and pictures to introduce details of life in the region of Ladakh, from local foods to prayer flags flying outside the windows. But the book's resolution hinges on a different Tibetan Buddhist custom, as Tashi's Momo-ley (grandmother) teaches him about fasting on New Moon Night, save for a nourishing glass of yak milk; Tashi, taking the tradition to heart, determines to feed his shrinking friend and greets the moon joyously when it returns to full. The cartoonlike illustrations--strong dark lines with a limited range of facial expressions--match Tashi's buoyant personality and maintain the story's lightness. Though the book displays the occasional misplaced detail (why, for example, does Momo-ley cover her milk with her clothing?), the text flows loosely between narrative and cultural exposition. VERDICT Engaging illustrations pair with a story simultaneously universal and specific to a region not often represented in children's books.--Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY