This is also accomplished by the choice to use very little punctuation. This first scene is actually followed by quite a lot of action (the train choo-chooing along, the owl flying, the cougar hunting, and the bunnies and mice hiding), yet the action is described in a calm way, using descriptive words to break up the action and give a more contemplative tone rather than anxious one. We don't know if he is in the train, or just thinking of it, but his being in bed definitely makes us think of 'bedtime'. The first picture in the book is of a boy in bed gazing at the moon. This is accomplished through both the text and the illustrations. Now, in addition to London's eccentric style, He uses a recurring theme of sleep to lull the reader into a drowsy state.

It is a style choice used by the author to reach his end. Therefore, don't get too worked up by the lack of plot. To the sleepy child, the book is a open universe to consider, and, in the considering, the sleepy child is likely to fall asleep. London puts us in a contemplative world, and introduces us to a myriad of characters and situations, resolving nothing, yet getting one's mind to work and wonder.

This is characterized by the very first statement in the text 'Wouldn't it be nice to take a ride on a train'. Suddenly we see purpose in his lack of purpose! He wants to create a nighttime world in which those who read may lose themselves. That is the key to understanding London's work. In the text, London wasn't trying to tell a story, he was trying to get his kids to sleep. Why write a story without a concrete story? Well I as curious and took a look at Jonathan London's website, and it turns out that the story originated as a bedtime story for his children. To see the true purpose of the book, one must consider the author's purpose of writing it. Once one accepts that, The Owl Who Became the Moon is fairly enjoyable to analize. However, looking closer at the text, one sees that the plot is not the point. Yet, though the book is expertly illustrated and is fun to read aloud (it is full of onomatopoeia), a cohesive, central plot is absent. It appears to describe a train's nightime journey through the woods as seen through the eyes of a child, complete with an owl, a cougar, bunnies, mice, and other creatures. The first time I read Jonathan London's work, I did not understand it. The Owl Who Became the Moon is not a conventional book.

Owl and moon story