{"id":5539,"date":"2026-02-05T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5539"},"modified":"2026-02-05T11:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:45:00","slug":"when-i-see-the-sun-you-see-the-moon-by-jennie-marie-naffie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5539","title":{"rendered":"When I See the Sun, You See the Moon by Jennie Marie Naffie"},"content":{"rendered":"

A moving children\u2019s book about the love grandparents and grandchildren share, however far apart<\/strong><\/h3>\n

MimiChi, a girl from Japan, whispers to her grandmother in the United States, \u201cWhen I see the sun, you see the moon.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>In the US, Nona whispers just the opposite: \u201cWhen I see the moon, you see the sun.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite an ocean and over 3,000 miles between them, the two are still so deeply connected. Nona sings to MimiChi and asks the wind to carry it to her, and MimiChi sends her kisses right back. Each page of this book juxtaposes what MimiChi and Nona do at the same time across the world; with this effect, they\u2019re not physically together, but they\u2019re tied so tightly, like they\u2019re bringing the other along with them each hour of every day. When they have their love within them, they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The language is simple and ever so sweet in When I See the Sun, You See the Moon<\/em>. It\u2019s a quick, heartwarming story that\u2019s quite perfectly suited for grandparents to read to their grandchildren, either in person or on a video call from far away. The connection between MimiChi and Nona is something so many kids and grandmothers will resonate with. Any mention of grandma in my household, and the kids start screaming in delight. They do wait for those calls, those visits, and long to have their other best friend with them at all times. This is a story that celebrates that love and reminds little ones that their grandparent is thinking of them all day too.<\/p>\n

And the reunion! Oh, the reunion between Nona and MimiChi\u2014a surprise to the little girl\u2014is as warm and loving as a grandmother\u2019s hug. \u201cWhen you see the sun, sometimes I see the sun too.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Just like your child\u2014impatiently awaiting their grandma\u2019s next visit\u2014MimiChi is floored by the presence of Nona and spends every moment beside her. For a story about connection while separate, it feels so right that we get to experience the full connection together in the end. And of course, the surprise element of it all\u2014tied together with the title\u2014is of chef\u2019s kiss<\/em> perfection.<\/p>\n

One thing that stands in the way, however, is the illustration. Simple illustrations make sense for language that\u2019s so simple, but the images go from simple to messy as time goes on. Window sizes change, body parts morph, faces change, settings are reused or empty, and some angles appear unnatural.<\/p>\n

When I See the Sun, You See the Moon <\/em>would be a great choice for grandparents who want their grandkids to know how much they love them when they\u2019re gone. Kids will enjoy feeling seen by MimiChi\u2019s emotions no matter what, but they\u2019ll enjoy it even more when it\u2019s grandma who\u2019s reading it to them.<\/p>\n

The post When I See the Sun, You See the Moon by Jennie Marie Naffie<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A moving children\u2019s book about the love grandparents and grandchildren share, however far apart MimiChi, a girl from Japan, whispers to her grandmother in the United States, \u201cWhen I see the sun, you see the moon.\u201d In the US, Nona whispers just the opposite: \u201cWhen I see the moon, you see the sun.\u201d\u00a0 Despite an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}