How to Be on the Moon by Viviane Schwarz

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How to Be on the Moon by Viviane Schwarz
Review Copy from Candlewick Press

Anna and Crocodile are back! Now that they have found gold (see below) they (well, Anna, really) decide to go to the moon. Anna is exuberant, while Crocodile is more thoughtful, and this suits the friends - and the story - well. Crocodile decides that they will need "special skills" like math and patience. Math skills are tested by counting backwards from five and patience is tested by Anna sitting still and repeatedly asking Crocodile if she is patient yet. Landing on the most important aspects of space travel, Crocodile says, "We will need to travel at an almost impossible speed. Otherwise we will run out of sandwiches along the way." To this, Anna responds, "You make the sandwiches. I will make the speed."
Anna and Crocodile in space is even more fun than on Earth as the friends make up a game called "Crocodiles in Space," the rules of which are, you have to float around the space ship catching pieces of the sandwiches in your mouth. When you catch them all, you get to eat it! Landing on the moon, the pair become reflective. Looking out at Earth and seeing how small it seems, Crocodile says it is "almost impossibly beautiful. It's just very far away." To this, Anna insightfully responds, "Being far away feels just the same as being very small when you are missing someone." Returning home, they head out the door to, "check on the rest of the world, just in case."

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