A touching read bringing up many modern issues about orphans, adoption, death, sickness, etc. Beautiful illustrations with a poignant story make 满月 a memorable picture book, especially topical to read around Mid Autumn Festival. Whilst these are deep and sad issues for a child, the overarching message is about positivity, optimism and being grateful. The language is the book is simple, and the afterword is more detailed, so it's possible for a parent to discuss more deeply if they want to (eg AIDS is only mentioned in the afterword, not the main text, which simply says the parents die of a 'blood disease').

The story involved various unique topics that we don't usually come across in children's literature - death, adoption, letting go of a knowledge we hold comfort to, persevering through challenges for the ones we love. Although these are difficult life topics, the author has beautifully presented the story in simple words and is not lengthy at all and easy for children to understand. It is up to parents how deep they want to discuss with their child about the story. The beautiful illustration accompanies the story very well.

We have always enjoyed good stories. We loved books written by author 保冬妮, every story comes with beautiful illustrations and rich chinese culture. Story Treasury has a very good curated selection of chinese culture books.