School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This saccharine story awkwardly attempts to explain the changing appearance of the moon. Miss Mavis Sugar, a cat, is a talented baker. She creates a mooncake, adding to it slice by slice for 14 days until it is done (a full moon), and then invites her friends to "gobble it up in smiling bites" for the next two weeks until it is gone and she bakes it again. The tale starts slowly by listing page after page of desserts. The fable is unclear, and the lackluster text, which rhymes most of the time but abruptly stops at others, features overly cute phrases such as "deliciously delicious." The meter is often uneven, and while the author includes a refrain, children are likely to have lost interest long before it appears. The collage artwork, on the other hand, is a delight, and the full-bleed illustrations are filled with motion and detail. With beautiful use of color and texture, Hosta creates a cast of appealing animals and atmospheric moonlit nights. Watch for more from this artist, but pass on this uneven and plotless story.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Hosta's latest is an imaginative feast about the moon and its many phases. Miss Mavis Sugar is a striped orange cat who loves to cook. She makes all sorts of sweet treats that her friends love to share, but her specialty is mooncake. For 14 days, she makes just one slice per night until the cake (the full moon) is finally done. Then her friends gather 'round to help eat the cake, one slice at a time, for another 14 days. "Mooncake, mooncake is so nice. / Yes, go ahead and eat a slice!" By the end, all the friends are asleep in their beds under a dark, new-moon sky. A final page labels the nine phases of the moon and lists some interesting facts. Repetitive refrains will have youngsters joining in, but the rhymes may be lost as a result of the text's formatting. There is a folksy, quilt-like feel to Hosta's collage illustrations. She combines dark backgrounds with bright foreground details, creating pictures that pop off the pages. The gentle cats and forest animals celebrating the moon may be just the ticket to dreamland--if one doesn't mind the sugar. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Mavis Sugar, a patchwork orange cat with a knowing smile, announces that the moon is not made of green cheese; rather, it's cake, which will go nicely with tea. A talented baker, she asks the other animals what their favorite sweets are,\b and what follows is a list of delicious goodies--from jam jubilees to fudgy buttons. But Mavis is going to make a mooncake. At this point, the tale takes an interesting turn: it subtly becomes an introduction to the phases of the moon. Mavis makes a big, round mooncake, and then the neighborhood animals take bites until just a sliver is left. An addendum offers a more factual introduction to the lunar cycle. Children may not realize there's a science lesson wrapped in the fancy, but they'll be enamored by the story and the inventive artwork. Crowded with all sorts of intriguing and endearing items and filled with stars and touched by moonlight, this picture book charms more with each turn of the page. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist