Nobody Owns the Moon

Tohby Riddle (author/illustrator)

Penguin, Australia: 2008

ISBN: 9780670071609

Genres: allegory, picture book

Issues: belonging, community, differences, friendship

Shortlisted CBCA Awards, 2009.

Clive Prendergast is a fox - ‘one of the only wild creatures in the world that can successfully make a life for itself in cities.' His friend Humphrey, being a donkey, has a little more difficulty. A mysterious blue envelope contains something that will change all that - for one night, at least.

An apparently simple recount, Nobody Owns the Moon is the picture book at its best. Riddle's multimedia collage illustrations immerse the reader in the busy, often lonely world of the city. Clive's ability to adapt to any environment is in vivid contrast to all the Humphreys of this world - those who feel different, outcast, lost amidst the complexities and ‘busyness' of a community so large it's often oblivious to individual members. Yet it is Humphrey's awareness of the emptiness this creates that perhaps allows him to take greater joy in the experience offered by the mysterious blue envelope. Clive the survivor takes things as they come; Humphrey, having more experience of deprivation, has a greater capacity to appreciate unlooked for opportunities. Riddle reinforces this with the occasional insertion of other isolates into the crowded city - a sad dancing bear; a crocodile trying hard to blend in; grey-faced men and women who've lost their individuality in their attempts to blend in.

Definitely a picture book for older readers, Nobody Owns the Moon will stimulate much discussion with its dark but thought-provoking subtext.