Cover Image: A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon

A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon

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Member Reviews

Although targeted towards elementary age students, a lot of them would have a hard time following and understanding the story. Yes, we know it takes place in a library, but all of the descriptions, etc. takes away from the story not enhance it.

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This was a super fun and enjoyable story. Great for all ages to read alone or aloud. Would definitely recommend purchasing a copy for your Littles or classrooms.

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I LOVED this book! I have students in my class who look for a mystery book on their reading level. This book was perfect! Strong and relatable characters, a fast paced storyline and a satisfying ending! Thank you for this ARC. My students enjoyed it!

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This was a cute and fun read that will feel very relatable to many book-loving kids (and grown kids!) out there. This one was a fair bit longer than I was expecting, but it will be fantastic for middle grade readers, especially those a little more advanced so they can really delve deep into this book.

I loved the themes of friendship, magic, animals and books in this one. A girl who adores her local library and has grown up loving books is faced with a world where she realises many other people don't feel the same way she does. A small library facing the fact that they are not valued enough and have enough customers.

As an animal lover and huge book worm, I loved the themes in this book and the lay-out and illustrations added to the whimsy.

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My feelings were constantly shifting as I read this book. I was immediately pulled in by a book that takes place in a library starring a little girl obsessed with books. I was the weird kid that would give up my recess so that I could stay inside and help the librarian shelve books. I immediately fell in love with the raccoon narrator and the raccoon notes. What I had a hard time with was the character of Pearl herself. I understand that the book was about her coming to a place of acceptance, but she was so mean to others at the beginning. She spoke in such harsh ways that didn't feel like it matched with the rest of the character we had seen. And she continued to make bad choices that didn't fit either for me. It felt like the author wanted the reader to see the change Pearl went through that she hurt the character she had created in the first half. Pearl started to sound and act like a real character more in the second half, saving the book for me.

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I LOVE this book. I’ve since gone on to purchase it for a few of my friend’s kids. And they love it too. The cover perfectly captures the spirit of the book which is to say that it’s an incredibly enjoyable read. I can not recommend this book enough! It’s one of those books you want everyone around you to read so you can talk to more people about it. You’ll not regret picking this book up!

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I received an electronic ARC from Chronicle Books through NetGalley.
2.5 stars
The premise was intriguing and I'm glad I read it but the characters were flat and didn't grow or change much at all through the whole story. There was potential for change included but the writing style buried it.
Loved the sidebars from M.A.M. I won't spoil the identity for other readers. They added interest and information to the plot.
This is one that could have benefited by less background information and shorter, more focused text.
In the end, the library is saved and most issues have been resolved.

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This wasn't a bad storyline once it got going but I did find that it dragged in places quite a bit. Not a consistent flow of pace. Not a bad read though.

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I feel like this book dragged a bit. The pacing wasn't tight enough. And as soon as I realized it involved literal intelligent raccoons, it felt much longer. In part because that's the only fantastic element. Everything else is very reality based. I liked the idea of helping people find the magic of the library and pride in their community. It just ultimately didn't work for me.

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4.5 let's enjoy to read stars

I don't know but I loved it.

It is said that a village is needed to raise a child, well what do you think of a library? In this beautiful story about a girl, the librarian's daughter, and where we are in a world that points strongly towards globalization maybe we lost some things, we here recover the sense of love of a small community that represents a family, about friendship, facing together and with imagination to the difficulties, and besides, of course how our little world can be much bigger thanks to the books.

Pearl is a complicated , bookish, precocius girl, and the Lancaster Library is all her world. She never thought something will change. Well, sometimes the change come with a bang, or with a inconcebible act that led to more changes, not all bad.



This is a very nice story about a girl: Pearl, daughter of the librarian of a library located in New York and is about to close due to lack of readers and whose building is outside the budget of the municipality and needs many repairs . I think many small libraries will feel fully identified with this. For Pearl this is the end of her world, because she feels isolated in school environment and spends all her time in that library with the people that work there, or who hides there like the man who reads the newspaper everyday but who has no house or where to sleep.

Everything is triggered in history when the statue of the poetess that is in the garden appears beheaded in the morning. No one knows what happened.

For the neighbors it is a symbol of the decay of the neighborhood, for Pearl it is a tragedy and a major insult, and for the rest of the people in the newspaper it is a curiosity that directs their eyes there. A girl in particular, to Pearl's horror, begins to go, she dances, and soon becomes her first contact with someone her age. And it is then that, more than anything in his despair because there need for more readers, makes this girl out of her safety shell and she decides to start inventing things to attract new readers from the school there.

As for example the mystery of the statue, and also to invent things about raccoons ... or are they not stories?

The raccoons here will play a fundamental and brilliant point, giving a bias of magical realism because I do not simply want to tell fantasy to this story full of how great it is to read, and how that helps us even to communicate with others, and when it is necessary to extend to ask for help and make connections with others, and like geeks of whatever - geologists, readers or athletes, are the best.

The drawings in the book are very nice.

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{Esta vez en castellano}

Se dice que se necesita un pueblo para criar a un niño, ¿qué piensas de una biblioteca? En esta hermosa historia sobre una niña, la hija de la bibliotecaria, y donde estamos en un mundo que apunta fuertemente hacia la globalización a veces cosas quedan en el camino.; aqui recuperamos el sentido del amor de una pequeña comunidad que representa a una familia, sobre la amistad, enfrentarse juntos y con imaginación las dificultades, y además, por supuesto, cómo nuestro pequeño mundo puede ser mucho más grande gracias a los libros.

Pearl es una niña complicada y precoz, que pasa metida en los libros, y la Biblioteca Lancaster es todo su mundo. Ella nunca pensó que algo cambiaría. Bueno, a veces el cambio viene con una explosión, o con un acto inconcebible que condujo a más cambios, no todos malos.

Esta es una historia muy bonita sobre una niña: Pearl, hija del bibliotecario de una biblioteca ubicada en Nueva York y está a punto de cerrar debido a la falta de lectores y cuyo edificio está fuera del presupuesto del municipio y necesita muchas reparaciones. Creo que muchas bibliotecas pequeñas se sentirán completamente identificadas con esto. Para Pearl, este es el fin de su mundo, porque se siente fuera del ambiente escolar y pasa todo su tiempo en esa biblioteca con las personas que trabajan allí, o que se esconde allí como el hombre que lee el periódico pero que no tiene casa o Dónde dormir.

Esta es una historia muy simpática acerca de una niña: Pearl, hija de la bibliotecaria de una biblioteca situada en Nueva York y que se encuentra a punto de cerrar por falta de lectores y cuyo edificio se encuentra fuera del presupuesto del municipio y necesita muchas reparaciones. Creo que muchas bibliotecas pequeñas se sentiran plenamente identificados con esto. Para Pearl este esta es el fin de su mundo, pues ella se siente fuera de ambiente en la escuela y pasa todo el tiempo en esa biblioteca con la gente que alli trabaja, o que se oculta alli como el señor que lee el diario pero que no tiene casa ni donde dormir.

Todo se desencadena en la historia cuando la estatua de la poetisa que esta en el jardin aparece decapitada en la mañana. Nadie sabe que pasó.

Para los vecinos es símbolo de la decadencia del barrio , para Pearl es una tragedia y un insulto mayúsculo, y para el resto de la gente de afuera es una curiosidad que hace dirigir sus ojos hacia alli. Una niña en especial, para horrror de Pearl , empieza a ir , ella baila , y pronto se convierte en su primer contacto con alguien de su edad . Y es entonces que , más que nada en su desesperación porque haya más lectores, hace que esta chica salga de su concha de seguridad y decida empezar a inventarse cosas para atraer nuevos lectores de la escuela hacia alli.
Como por ejemplo el misterio de la estatua , y también a inventarse cosas de los mapaches... ¿o acaso no son cuentos?

Los mapaches aqui desempeñaran un punto fundamental y genial, dando nn sesgo de realismo mágico porque no quiero decir sencillamente fantasia a esta historia llena de lo genial que es leer, y como eso nos ayuda incluso a comunicarnos con otros , y cuando es necesario extenderse a pedir ayuda y a hacer conecciones con otros, Y como los frikis de lo que sea, geólogos, lectores o deportistas, son lo más que hay.

Los dibujos del libro son muy simpáticos.

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I had to really rush to read this to get this review posted as I just requested/received the book. I thought the premise sounded good but I'm not sure that the information described this book very well. It stared out really good, got kind of slow in several places, but I finished it and it was o.k. I certainly don't think it needed to be as long as it was, it seemed to go on and on. I don't have any kids at home, all grown, so I don't read much middle grade. I'm trying to read more because I find that I really like it. I liked all the library references and I loved the friendship aspects of it. Overall a good book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

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DNF @ 18%
The synopsis seemed so much different than the actually book. I thought it would be for me, but I guess not. I didn’t like the writing style and the words were really simple - nothing complex.

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This book was not quite what I expected, but still a fun read. The elements of fantasy fit it perfectly with the story without making it feel too silly. Pearl is a great character for young readers - she's smart, clever, passionate about what she believes in, and hard working. The sidebars added another fun element and the illustrations only added to the story. There are also a lot of great supporting characters.

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3.5 Really wonderful story...just a bit too long. I don’t think this story warranted being nearly 400 pages. I loved the illustrations and sidebars; they really did add to the understanding and humor of the story. Unfortunately, with the main protagonists expressly being 10 years old, this cute mystery would not move in my middle school.

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A cute middle-grade novel featuring raccoons, a statue's missing head, and the libraries- really this felt like a love letter to libraries with its quirky sidebars and literary reference footnotes. The plot seems to drag in places and was a bit long but overall, A Girl, A Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon was a fun read with themes of friendship and exploring the importance of imagination.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books publishers for providing a free ARC

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Bookish books are my favorite! I always love a book about libraries and the illustrations in A Girl, A Racoon, and the Midnight Moon are very cute. I really related to Pearl’s awkwardness and loved that part of this book focused on getting more people to use the library (which I am passionate about myself). The footnotes and sidebars were a great touch and I enjoyed them. The book was a little long; the story seemed to drag at times. But overall I enjoyed the characters and the story. I think this would be a great read-aloud in the classroom or for a family bedtime read.

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This was a book about a young girl, Pearl, who is trying to save the library where she was born and her mother works. Overall, I felt that this book was too long for my readers. Had it been about half the length, I would have recommended it for my students. Mild language can also be found throughout this book. For those reasons, I will not be purchasing it for the library. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. It is expected to be published on January 7, 2020.

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I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 7, 2020
Pearl Moran is 10 years old and starting 5th grade. She was actually born at the library! Her mom is the circulation desk librarian and dating the library manager Bruce. Bruce used to be a park ranger, and has costume of Ranger Rick the Raccoon. Pearl’s father has never been in the picture. The library is her home, and the library staff her family. But her library is not doing well, there is poor circulation and some developers want to turn it into apartments. And to top it off the statute of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (known as Vincent), get her head stolen one night. Things are not looking good for the future of the Lancaster Branch of New York City library at all.
I really liked this book. There was nothing in the book that I said, OH I wouldn’t want my kid reading this, there were a few discussions about reproduction in the animal kingdom, and a few cuss words like piss, and damn and hell, but it was mild in mind. This was a great story about perseverance and social issues. It was about friendship and change, and how small actions can lead to great things. Peal and Francine and Oleg and all the library workers, really brought the library back to life. Pearl found her place in her world, and friends. And she didn’t sacrifice important things, like the raccoons, to achieve it. She showed integrity and commitment and inclusion. I don’t know that kids will get all the concepts, but the seeds of them could be planted with this book. Once I figure out how to get it to be readable on my kindle (netgalley sent a pdf, not a kindle file), or when it comes out, whichever happens first, I will absolutely have my son read it.

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Pearl was practically born at the branch library where her mother works, and considers it home. When the head of the Edna St. Vincent Millay statue is stolen from the scruffy garden, Pearl is devastated and determined to find the culprit. Her mother alerts the local newspaper, and the attention the branch receives brings to light the fact that it isn't as busy as the other branches and because the building is in poor condition, it might be sold. Evil contractors even come to take measurements for making it into apartments. Pearl and her friends try to rally support and plan a big Halloween party to encourage local people to sign their children up for cards. At the same time, there is a mystery about Mrs. Mallomar and her children who are raccoons who can read and live in the library at times. Sidebars from the raccoons give interesting information about everything from library staffing to raccoon habits.

Strengths: I love Millay's work, and am a sucker for a good library book, and Pearl's branch is certainly a very appealing place. The mystery about the statue, combined with the New York City setting, gave it a From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler feel. The characters are delightful, and I love the rallying of community support, especially since it involves getting more people to use the library. The building was also very appealing.
Weaknesses: The raccoons communicate with humans. This is definitely speculative fiction.
What I really think: A book almost 400 pages long with a cover like this would never circulate in my library. Had it been 200 pages long (maybe dropping the raccoon story line), I would have bought it for fans of Tan's A Kind of Paradise. This had a definite 1970s vibe to it, especially with the talk of newspaper articles.

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It takes place in a library which was my first draw towards this title. The library and the art is cute, and Pearl wants to help save the library, which I feel like is a good thing to introduce to younger children, as it might encourage them to utilize their library more.
I think it could be used as a good read-a-loud in a classroom. Pearl is a lovely character who can't imagine life without the library. She makes some new friends along the way and a mystery comes to light. Some parts felt slow for me and it didn't have as much action as I had anticipated but I think it is a good children's read.

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