For my birthday, Grandma sent me a crystal globe of the city where she lives. “If you look carefully, maybe you can see me,” she wrote. Late that night, I woke to find a full moon glowing in a starry sky. “To Grandma’s,” I shouted. So begins a boy’s search for his grandmother as he is transported on a magical journey through nighttime New York City. The globe/moon pulls him along to sweeping vistas. From the spiraling towers of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, to the grand lions on the steps of the public library, to the heights of the Chrysler Building and other wondrous sights, our hero encounters the city’s jeweled architecture and many delightful denizens–arriving just in time for a huge celebration atop a famous green lady. A young birthday boy, falling asleep in sight of his new crystal globe from Grandma, takes a magical night flight over New York City. Casting his fishing rod at the globe-become-moon, the boy sails out into the sky, into a surreal world where stone lions yawn on the steps on New York's public library, flying cowboys lasso faded stars from the sky, and enchanted ladies float and dance over a wide avenue. All the friendly, dream-like people offer encouraging words--"You're just in time," "You're almost there"--but the moon lifts him away before he ever gets an answer to his many questions. The hints get broader as the evening wears on, and the party that awaits him on the Statue of Liberty is not so much a surprise as a joyful reunion with all his new friends... and his beloved grandmother. Like David Wiesner's wordless Sector 7 , Tuesday , and Free Fall , illustrator Brian Wilcox's surreal, fanciful landscapes are implied from dizzying perspectives, allowing the mesmerized reader to become lost in the gray tones of his pencil drawings. Coauthors Wilcox and Lawrence David create a dreamy picture book sure to inspire imaginative flights of fancy in readers of all ages. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter K-Gr 2-Casting his fishing line into the night sky, a boy latches onto the moon for an adventuresome ride to a magical city. A bedtime wish that he might visit his grandmother triggers the sequence of fantastical events. She has sent, as a birthday gift, "a crystal globe of the city where she lives." The boy narrates his surreal voyage, depicted in full-page drawings in shades of gray across spreads. As the boy dangles from the moon, it pauses to reveal swooping roller coasters, talking animals, enchanted ladies dancing high in the air, stone lions come to life by the library steps, flying cowboys on exotic craft, and circus performers, all indicating an impending celebration. Predictably, it turns out to be a birthday party for the boy, held near the Statue of Liberty, with Grandma present astride an African elephant. The visual scheme, with plentiful absurdities to be discovered in each panorama, conveys the plot even without the brief narrative. Framed in deep blue line, the scenes have a gothic flavor, though the drawings and use of light lack strong definition. Readers who stick with the story through the bland grayness will enjoy the fanciful details and the whimsical conclusion. David Wiesner's wordless renditions in Free Fall (Lothrop, 1988) and Sector 7 (Clarion, 1999) are similar in concept, tone, and interesting perspectives. Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Ages 3-5. On the night of his birthday, a young boy harnesses the moon with his fishing rod and flies off to visit his faraway grandmother. The moon sweeps the young traveler past "two ladies floating and dancing over a wide avenue" and "flying cowboys [who] rope faded stars from the sky." When the boy catches sight of "the great green lady holding a torch that lit the night sky," he knows where he is. He soon reencounters the colorful characters that he met on his journey, now dancing and singing beneath the stars in a surprise celebration of his birthday. It's then that the boy receives the greatest gift of all--his grandmother greets him from atop an African elephant. The fantasy of this dreamlike adventure is magnified by exquisitely detailed charcoal illustrations. Cynthia Turnquest Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Brian Wilcox makes his picture-book debut with Full Moon . Lawrence David is the author of three other picture books.