Writer, critic, and blogger Maria Popova (Figuring) partners with author/illustrator Sarah Jacoby (Doris) to create The Coziest Place on the Moon, a soothing, enlightening picture book that celebrates the rewards of solitude.
Re, who resembles an adorable porcupine with a golden-tinted, sky-blue dye job, wakes up one Tuesday in July "feeling like the loneliest creature on Earth." Not one to wallow, Re resolves "to go live in the coziest place on the Moon." Re lands "on the edge of the Sea of Tranquility" then walks and walks until arriving at "a perfect nook." There, Re experiences "what it feels like to be happy-alone instead of lonely." Shortly after settling, Re hears "a huff" and "a gurgle," which belong to Mi, a flaxen marsupial-like voyager who also fled Earth after "feeling like the loneliest creature." The coziest nook has plenty of space to create "two parallel tranquilities"--ideal for solitude, but also to share company whenever Re and Mi need a bit of synchronous harmony.
Popova's concluding author's note discusses the scientific reality of the eponymous "coziest place[s]"--indicating NASA's July 2022 announcement of the existence of "cylindrical pits on the Moon." Artist Jacoby harmoniously matches Popova's introspective verses with welcoming, ethereal whimsy, garbing Re in a yellow-polka-dotted orange hat and scarf for their lunar journey and packing Re's suitcase with bright balls of fuzzy yarn. Lightness abounds, from flashlights, rainbows, and, of course, starlight. This exploration of that uniquely individualized, soul-nurturing balance of time alone and time with others is an aspirational odyssey suitable for all ages. --Terry Hong