La La La

The casual reader might thumb through this nearly wordless story and dismiss it as overly simple or otherwise inadequate. This would be a mistake. DiCamillo, a household name, shines by purposefully placing strikingly sparing text alongside stunning illustrations that tells a complex and optimistic story of overcoming loneliness with the help of the moon. A girl begins with a simple song. Seeking to be heard, seeking to be responded to, she travels outside, attempting to sing to the trees and the water and the bushes to no avail. Then once night she discovers the moon and uses a ladder to get as close as she can to deliver her sweet song. Still unheard, still without response, she descends despondent and falls asleep inside. That's when the moon sings back. Awakened by the song, she rushes to the source and discovers the moon. They meet, quite literally, quite wonderfully, face-to-face. And they sing together. Followed up with heartfelt author and illustrator notes, this seemingly simple book truly is "a story of hope."