Ladder to the Moon

Bibliography:

Soetoro-Ng, Maya. 2011. LADDER TO THE MOON. Ill. by Yuyi Morales. Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763645700.


Plot Summary:

Suhaila never met Grandma Annie, but she knows that Annie was soft and loving and caring. One night a golden ladder appears at Suhaila's window, and Grandma Annie invites the child to climb with her to the moon. There they listen to the song of the moon. As they look down on the Earth they grow closer.
They see people on the Earth who are suffering from the ravages of natural and man-made disasters. Grandma Annie reaches out to these people, pulling them to the moon. There are women with children, brothers, sisters, and people from different countries and of different religions. Soon the moon is crowed with people sitting and laughing and telling stories and healing.
Finally, it is time for Suhaila to leave. She returns to her mother, taking love knowledge and courage with her.


Critical Analysis:

This lovely and touching story is about a connection between a granddaughter and her Grandmother. Maya Soetoro-Ng decided to us this story as a way of uniting her own daughter Suhaila and her own mother Annie, who had died before Suhaila was born.
The characters of granddaughter and grandmother fulfill and enrich each other. On the one hand there is wise and nourishing Annie; on the other hand young, innocent, and accepting Suhaila. Suhaila watches her grandmother shelter and heal those who suffer, eventually becoming the one who reaches down helps up and heals.
It is interesting how the author emphasizes the importance of the five human senses. It is by listening, tasting, seeing, feeling and smelling that we learn and grow wiser.
The theme of the book is very philosophical – how to grow stronger in faith, growth toward a higher self. Soetoro-Ng uses an extraordinary style to present this theme to young children through various symbols and characters.
The illustrations of Yuyi Morales compliment the message of the Soetoro-Ng’s story. They are unique and breath-taking images. She uses such elements as texture, soft lines and colors, and shapes to represent the complexity of human emotions such as grief and happiness, courage and curiosity, hurt and healing. We can find the image of a caring dog like the one the Aztecs believed to be a person’s companion in life and later again on the journey of death. Every character in this story has a voice and a story that is heard because of Morales’s illustrations. Soetoro-Ng’s words and Morales’s imagery combine to create a memorable story experience.

Review Experts:

"From Maya Soetoro-Ng, sister of President Obama, comes a lyrical story relaying the loving wisdom of their late mother to a young granddaughter she never met."  Goodreads.

“Maya Soetoro-Ng’s book Ladder to the Moon is a stunning story about love, loss, service and so very much more”. There's a book.

Connections:


Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Written by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt 2003.

Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. Written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Chronicle Books 2003.

Sand Sister. Written by Amanda White, illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Barefoot Books 2004.

Little Night Written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales.Roaring Brook Press. A Neal Porter Book, 2007.