Jessica and the Lost Stories

Margaret Bunel Edwards is a freelance writer and author of several
children’s books.

Jessica loses her stories. All the wonderful, funny, exciting, and scary
stories she usually has in her head are gone. But where? Life is dull
without them, so one moonlit night she sets out to find them. Looking up
at the full moon, staring into its silvery reflection in the sea, she
suddenly knows, just knows, her stories are on the moon.

After climbing a glowing moonbeam path of light, she meets the moon and
asks him if he’s seen her stories. Indeed he has. They’ve kept him
awake with their giggling, their strange characters and funny tricks.
Will she please take them back? Happy to do so, she pops them into her
head once more, and flies gracefully to earth on the back of a silvery
moonbird.

This story is told gently in words and phrases that paint lovely images
for the child. It has an unbroken cadence, close to poetry, that invites
the listener to become part of the silvery scenes. It also teases the
imagination with references to meteors and rockets. It tells why the
moon seems to grow from a sliver to a half-eaten cookie to a full
shining surface.

The illustrations are equally pleasing. Softly outlined, full-color
pictures enhance the story’s mood. They show unusual detail and
faithfully follow the story line.

A lovely story for a child to hear as he or she falls asleep.