The Moon is a Ball: Stories of Panda & Squirrel is a collection of short stories for young readers to be left alone with, to have read aloud, or for grown-ups who like lovely stories. It follows the lives of two animals, Panda and Squirrel, as they navigate friendship and learn more about themselves and the world around them.
Usually, it’s the words that we focus on first, but in this book, I was immediately drawn to the illustrations.
The relationship between the friends and the action in the story is brought to life: Squirrel jumping into Panda’s arms, Panda cradling a duckling on a dangerous cliff edge and Squirrel thinking so hard she gives herself a headache. And how is the moon glowing on the page? It’s mesmerising.
The stories are nuggets of wisdom, delightful in the same way that children’s questions and comments can make grown-ups stop and wonder. In A Long Journey, Panda and Squirrel set out on a great journey, putting one paw in front of the other with no other aim than adventure.
They vow to invite along the first animal they see, and that animal turns out to be Snail. They don’t get very far and Panda and Squirrel are frustrated, but Snail has many musings.
