Written by: Land Wilson

Illustrated by: Sue Cornelison 

For ages: 4-8 years 

Language: English 

Topics Covered: Environmental Activism, Land Stewardship, Dreams, Friendship, Girls Outdoors, Space, Moon.

Summary: 

The Girl Who Spoke to the Moon is a gentle message about the importance of caring for the earth, and a young girl named Sofia’s friendship with the moon. In rhyming and lyrical text, Sofia befriends the moon at night. They stay up chatting and telling jokes, until one night Sofia falls asleep and dreams that she travels through space and up to the moon. The moon tells Sofia that the earth is hurting, and it needs help. The good news is, anyone can help take care of the earth by doing certain things!

When Sofia wakes up, she feels empowered and inspired to pledge her assistance to cleaning up and helping the environment. In the back is more information about different things hurting the earth, and easy steps to take for readers to help the earth. I like how this story is framed, and the dark color palette from the illustrations taking place at nighttime. Being inspired to help out a friend, like Sofia is, instead of feeling obligated to do “extra work” is a way that I would frame these tasks like planting trees and picking up litter. It promotes cooperation and I like how quotes from astronauts are included as well! We need to teach children from a young age to be stewards of the (in most cases colonized) land they occupy, and to respect it enough to take care of it.

This book was kindly sent by Sourcebooks Kids, but all opinions are my own!

Land Wilson was born and raised in Marin County, California. Growing up in an area known for its strong environmental leadership, he developed a deep appreciation for nature as a child. Land’s motivation for writing comes from a desire to teach children and others what he had learned about the importance of caring for nature. Land had read that viewing Earth from a distance was an experience that genuinely transforms a person’s thinking about our planet, and as part of his research Land interviewed  three Apollo astronauts. These interviews ultimately served as my inspiration to write what would one day become Sofia’s Dream (title later changed to The Girl Who Spoke to the Moon).

Sue Cornelison graduated with a BFA from Drake University in Art Education with an emphasis in drawing and painting. She then traveled to Florence, Italy to continue her studies at the International School of Studio Arts. Sue has worked as a full time illustrator for over a decade, exploring many techniques and styles. She wrote and illustrated The Twelve Days of Christmas in Iowa, published by Sterling.