Milo's Moonlight Mission - Kathleen M. Blasi - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Kathleen M. Blasi

ILLUSTRATOR: Petronela Dostalova

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: August 12, 2025

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A heartwarming picture book about a little space lover and his ‘mission’. Loved the story, writing, characters, and ending. The illustrations are great as well. The information on meteors was a bonus. Much recommended.

Plot Preview:

Young Milo loves space and dreams of playing take-off with his “Second-in-Command”, his Mom. Unfortunately, Mom has plenty of tasks and even though Milo helps her, her list of chores never seems to diminish. When the weather forecast predicts a meteor storm in the middle of the night, Milo is desperate to witness it. But will his Second-in-Command have the time to help him accomplish this mission?

The story is written in Milo’s third-person perspective.

All children love to look at the moon and the stars, but several actually dream of flying through space. Young Milo is one such sweet kid. I loved how he considered himself the Captain of his spaceship. Usually in such stories, we see the child being accompanied by their pet dog or cat on ‘space missions’. So it is adorable to see Milo considering his Mom as the ‘Second-in-Command’. This situation is true for so many single kids with no pets: their parents are their playmates.

Of course, Mom’s busy schedule ensures that Milo sets an important example for little readers. He doesn’t wait for his Mom to ask for help. Whenever he sees her busy, he helps out in whatever way he can. More importantly, he does so without fussing or complaining about too much work or of wanting to play. Even when he wants to see the meteor storm, he doesn’t throw a tantrum or demand a commitment from his mother. I loved his sweet attitude.

These two characters have a lot to teach us. Even adult readers will understand the importance of ensuring that little ones chip in for smaller chores, the necessity of prioritising and organising their day, and the value of creating happy memories. The text repeats the word ‘together’ in the scenes where Milo is helping Mom, indirectly highlighting the closeness of sharing tasks. The book thus incorporates many relevant life lessons into its storyline.

The learning doesn’t just stop at morals. The back content offers some interesting information on meteors, and even provides a link that updates readers about local meteor showers. The plot includes a reference to the Leonid Meteor Shower, which is active every November. So if you want to watch it, this is the month!

The story is written in lyrical prose, with easy-to-understand words. There is a good use of alliteration, repetition, onomatopoeia, and even some rhyming words. The description of the meteor shower is very poetic.

The inside illustrations are also very nice. Created digitally, the sketches portray Milo’s inter-stellar dreams as well as his earthly tasks beautifully. His passion for space is especially visible in the artistic rendering of his room. The cover is also cute, but honestly, it doesn’t do justice to the story and the inner illustrations. A couple of the illustrations contain a tiny dialogue, but these aren’t written in speech bubbles. Some readers might miss out on these.

The author’s note at the end is also sweet, sharing her own memory of watching a meteor shower in her childhood. No wonder she wrote the scene so beautifully!

Overall, I enjoyed this sweet book. Milo’s missions, the homely one as well as the moonlight one, offers plenty of joy and insight to young readers. He is a great role model, and his mother too sets high parenting standards.

Definitely recommended. This would be a great option for all parent-child readaloud sessions, whether the child is a space enthusiast or not. (And parents: those early years go by in a flash, so enjoy the bonding moments and tiny helping hands as much as you can.) The official target age group is 4-8 years.

My thanks to Picnic Heist Publishing for providing a complimentary copy of “Milo's Moonlight Mission” via the Library Thing Early Reviewers Program at my request. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.