If My Moon Was Your Sun

Andreas Steinhöfel is an award-winning German writer of children’s books. He received the Erich Kästner Prize for Literature in 2009 and the German Children’s Literature Award in 2013. In addition to writing books for young readers, he also works as a translator, writes for television and radio, and edits graphic novels. Born in 1962 in Battenberg, Germany, he now lives in Berlin. Andreas Steinhöfel books translated into English include If My Moon Was Your Sun, The Spaghetti Detectives, An Elk Dropped In, and The Center of the World. Nele Palmtag, born in Böblingen, Germany, in 1973, began a career as a state-certified occupational therapist before studying design, fashion, and illustration at the University of the Arts Bremen and at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. She illustrates her own picture books as well as those of other authors. Her own works have been translated into several languages. She lives with her family in Hamburg-Altona.

In this import from Germany, a 9-year-old boy named Max sneaks his grandfather, who has dementia—the Great Forgetting—and another older woman, Miss Schneider, out of their nursing home. Gently, he leads them to a country meadow where his grandfather once proposed to his grandmother. He's fully aware that they'll be caught but determined that his grandfather should experience the peaceful green country setting anyway. His mission is successful. His grandfather slips into brief lucidity and offers Max gentle reassurance of his continued love. Exuberant Miss Schneider, rail thin and very cheery, dances! Frequent illustrations that look to be done in colored pencil are rendered in an unusual palette of just four or five vivid colors that effectively capture the child's determined yet spontaneous nature…. A CD accompanies this volume; a clear-voiced male reader pauses to give readers time to appreciate the occasional wordless double-page spread. An interlude of classical music follows…. About half the interludes are from "A Summer Day" by Sergei Prokofiev and the rest from "Petit Suite" by Georges Bizet. An interview follows the narrative, with author and illustrator offering insight into their thoughts as they crafted this unusual work. A quiet story and pleasant music combine for a calming, peaceful, and even uplifting performance. --Kirkus Reviews