IF THE MOON

Words by Matthew Burgess * Art by Matthew Forsythe

Stonefruit Studio / Sourcebooks * August 4 2026 * Available for PRE-ORDER

ISBN 9781464244049 * 40 pages * 3-7 years

★ “With its playful exuberance balancing peaceful contemplation, this is a reflective and whimsical stunner sure to reframe and soothe bedtime anxieties.” — Kit Ballenger, Booklist (Starred Review)

 ★ “Lyrical text and highly evocative illustrations create an exciting, soothing adventure. Superb bookmaking artistry.” –John Scott, School Library Journal (Starred Review)

“The poem’s quiet confidence and the art’s ambitious scope make excellent bedfellows, transforming a familiar premise—conquering nighttime fears—into something genuinely transporting.” –Publishers Weekly

“Two kidlit powerhouses unpack the potential for beauty in the word ‘if’…Creative storytelling and art quells fears and reassure young minds.” –Kirkus

“Restless readers will return to this visual lullaby again and again, believing in their dreamlike escapades more than their fears right before bedtime.” –BCCB

“What happens when two powerhouse picture book creators combine the lolling rhythm of Goodnight Moon, the flights of fancy of Where The Wild Things Are, and the emotional gravitas of a Shakespearean soliloquy (“to sleep / perchance to the dream”)? You get IF THE MOON, one of the most stunning and transportive bedtime reads to grace our children’s bookshelves, with words by Matthew Burgess and pictures by Matthew Forsythe… IF THE MOON, like other great bedtime books before it, offers up imagination as the antidote to this blankness. In our imaginations, any journey is possible; there is color and comfort, joy and wonder. We can experience the world as a fish or an owl or a snowflake or a star… Matthew Burgess’s verse is as soothing as it is playful and his wordplay only reveals itself more with repeat readings. Then Matthew Forsythe’s watercolor, gouache, and pencil art–WOWZA–takes the book to another level, moving seamlessly between dark and light, somber and whimsy, to remind us that it is the natural way of things to sleep, to dream, to wake, and then to do it all over again. With our imagination at the helm, we are in steady heads.” –Melissa LaSalle, Old Town Books

Read two recent interviews at The Horn Book and Publishers Weekly.