Pistes d'exploration

Why do you think the author chose this title? Does the cover remind you of any other stories? Predict what will happen. 

Discuss the idiom actions speak louder than words. Identify the illustrations that show Austin’s true feelings for Amy.

Write about a time when you went out of your way to impress someone. 

Austin has strange ways of welcoming Amy. Identify better ways of making new friends. Find expressions that would be appropriate when meeting a new person. Make a class anchor chart of these expressions. 

Discuss the illustrations. As you turn the pages, retell the story from Amy’s point of view. 

As you examine the illustrations, notice the animals that are tucked into them. 

To help orient a new student in your school, prepare a welcome booklet or package that has information about your school and neighbourhood. Include information that could come in useful such as school hours, names of key people, activities, etc.

The Quiet Place, Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House, Where's Jamela?, Sidney, Stella, and the Moon, Moonday, Earth and Sky

Mots-clés

Picture book , birthdays , feelings , friendship , gifts , journeys , love , moon , neighbours

Commentaire descriptif

This cute story about puppy love is told from the perspective of Austin, a love-struck boy who doesn’t know what hit him. The language deftly portrays Austin’s ambivalent feelings in child-friendly terms: “‘She’s yucky,’ Austin told him. ‘Who is?’ Sternberg asked. ‘Amy,’ Austin said, ‘Amy, Amy, Amy.’” The illustrations are sweet, sensitive and artful, using watercolour and fine line effects to create a world of big skies and adventurous settings—be they Arctic seas or the backyard. When Austin finally succeeds in lassoing the moon for Amy’s birthday present, one spread shows him bouncing at the end of the rope, as cows munch grass in the foreground. In another—his lasso hooked by a passing airplane—Austin flies over a landscape of castles, dotted with sheep and a passing flock of birds. Young readers may note that Austin’s dog faithfully chases him through all these travels. In the end, the moon securely tied to a tree in Amy’s yard, the friends take a bite: “‘Yuck,’ she said … ‘Yuck,’ he said.” The final image shows them under a starry sky, with the moon back up in its place, while they enjoy Amy’s birthday cake.