Ruowen Wang, illustrated by Wei Xu and Xiaoyan Zheng,
To Share One Moon
Kevin & Robin Books, 2008.

Gr. 3-7
Rating: G*

To Share One Moon is the story of a Chinese family’s immigration to Canada, as seen through the eyes of "Niu Niu", the young girl who narrates the story. It begins on an autumn night in China, at the family’s last celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival, or Chinese Moon Festival before leaving to begin a new life in Canada. Heartbroken at the thought of leaving her nanny, Niu Niu is told to look at the full Mid-Autumn moon, symbol of unity, and be reminded that even when thousands of miles apart, we are all under the same moon.

The family goes through the usual phases of adjustment to life in a new country. Initially they experience the happiness of finding heaven on earth, and of the excitement and hope of life in a new country. Then, with time, the reality of the move - of missed friends and family, living in a smaller house and no longer working in the job trained for, sets in. Within the story the Chinese story of Chang-Er, or Moon Lady, is recounted by Grandmother. It has an unhappy ending that Nui Nui wishes she could change. But she can no more easily change the story than she can the other circumstances which pull her family apart. Neither of the stories has a typically happy ending. At the end, while Nui Nui still wishes she could make things different, she does find comfort in the full moon, knowing that no matter how far apart, loved ones will be thinking of each other when they look up to look at the moon.

The book is beautifully illustrated by two artists, and the different style of the main story’s illustrations and the story of Chang-er within the story are noticeable. The pictures of the main story fill the whole page and portray a contemporary Canadian setting whereas the pictures for the story of the Moon Lady are evocative of ancient China.

Thematic Links: Immigration; Mid-Autumn Festival; Family Separation

Moira Kirkpatrick
Vol. 13, number 3
February 2008

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.