• Age: 5 to 8
• Grade: k to 3

Through the centuries people have measured time by the phases of the moon. From January’s Wolf Moon to June’s Honey Moon, and from September’s Harvest Moon to December’s Long-Night Moon, Joanne Taylor introduces the names of each full moon in a gentle narrative that follows the rhythms of a farm family’s life. Folklore and real life blend in a beautiful new book about the seasons. The lyrical text is perfectly complemented by Susan Tooke’s gorgeous paintings.

Joanne Taylor's profile page

Born in New Jersey, Susan received her professional training from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia and the New School in New York. She moved to Canada in 1980, and has made Halifax, Nova Scotia her home. Working predominantly as a painter, Susan illustrated her first book in 2000, and has received the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration, and the Mayor’s Award for Brave Jack and the Unicorn. Her work is consistently chosen by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre as a starred selection for the Our Choice Award. In describing her artwork, Susan states: "I breathe real life into my images—the sounds, smells, colors, and idiosyncrasies of specific places and the people who inhabit them."

Susan Tooke's profile page

• Nominated, Blue Spruce Award

Lillian Shepherd Award for Excellence in Illustration
Mayor's Award for Illustration (Atlantic Book Awards)

“Taylor and Tooke have combined their talents to create a luminous celebration of each month’s full moon…Rich, double–page paintings set the text within the life of a northern farm family.”
–School Library Journal
“Along with Susan Tooke’s richly detailed illustrations, it’s a vivid, subtly educational book.”
–Maclean’s, Great Kids’ Titles by Canadians

“Full Moon Rising is beautifully illustrated by Halifax artist Susan Tooke… Many of the vivid illustrations come from seasonal happenings on an historical farm and complement the warm, lyrical text. Children whose imaginations are captivated by this book will never again look into the night sky and see just a full moon. What a gift they have been given.”
–New Glasgow Evening News
“A Picture is worth a thousand words, so goes the old saying. If that’s true, Susan Tooke’s paintings are wroth a million. Full of lively faces and incredible detail, Tooke’ s paintings are a perfect complement to Halifax neighbour Joanne Taylor’s poetic text in the lovely new children’s book, Full Moon Rising…Each painting is a marvel, a world of its own.”
–The Daily News
“Susan Tooke wonderfully illustrates Full Moon Rising…[her] illustrations breathe understanding into the poetry.”
–CM Magazine
“[A] beautiful picture book… This inside of the dust jacket is a poster including all of the book’s illustrations. And what superb illustrations they are, giving the book more atmosphere and more depth than the text alone supplies. Susan Tooke’s paintings are a large part of the appeal of this book.”
–Resource Links
“Tooke’s pictures are luxurious in pattern and detail as they depict a family activity unique to each month and each moon.”
–The Chronicle-Herald
“Full Moon Rising is a lovely new book…celebrating the lore behind the naming of the full moon each month…Tooke’s illustrations, one for each month, are filled with detail and activity…[Taylor] conveys a love of the natural world and a closeness to it in her spare text.”
–The Chronicle-Herald