OK, Goth Moth is a moth and he’s a drummer. It doesn’t get cooler than that. My review could end here and be complete but since I’m a wordy Nelly I’ll continue. Author Kai Luftner is an East Berliner author with a musical background. Wiebke Rauers, the artist, is also a German with a rich background in illustrating children’s books. Together they’ve given us a charming little book that will be perfect in any youngster’s library.

Walter, aka Goth Moth, lives alone in the forest and loves to dance to the music in his head during the pale moonlight. He’s a nighttime rocker. His celebrity crush is Jitterbug, a superstar. The problem is that she performs in full daylight.

This amusing little book is written in a loosely rhyming format about how Walter overcomes his fear of the light and meets his favorite performer.

The prose, poetry, and pictures are amusing and perfect for a lap sit or real aloud book for the young ones to enjoy.

This book is so darn cute! We love to have a lot of variety in our books. We’re a pretty weird house, so having these funny quirky books brings us a lot of joy. Highly enjoyable by parents and kids, great rhyming and beautiful illustrations. Will buy this for our shelf!

Thank you so much to NorthSouth Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Goth Moth lives all alone and loves to play silent drums to his favourite artist Jitterbug, then one day he steps outside in daytime to find her, when there gets a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I really loved the rhyming of this book it’s written so perfectly, the storyline was super cute a little moth that wanted to rock out but wasn’t ever aloud to be noisy due to house guests. But never gives up on his dream no matter what they say to him.

The illustrations were really wonderful to look at and captured him perfectly along with all the other characters we meet alone the way. This was really adorable book such a great read, it was different to others and it had a really sweet story.

Thank you NorthSouth Books Publisher and Gelsey White, Associate Publicist for reaching out and inviting me to read Goth Moth on NetGalley.

Published: 09/03/24

Stars: 4

Goth Moth is the second book in the Band of Bugs Series and my favorite of the two. (Jitterbug was the first.)

The illustrations are creepy fun. I did enjoy studying each page, there are a lot of details in the art work. I did do better reading this on Kindle during the day. The palette is too dark for nighttime reading, albeit appropriate for the gothic style.

The story is again wordy, but that could be a translation issue. If I were reading this aloud I would be prepared with props and edited text. Of note, Jitterbug makes an appearance.

I would gift this.

Walter has a dream, he wants to be a drummer. He has no drums and is a bit shy, but perhaps under the right circumstances he can become GOTH MOTH! I can't wait to add this title to my home library.

Goth Moth by Kai Lüftner is a fun, ingenious, instant classic! I loved this children's book! It was funny, the rhyme scheme was consistent, and the message was so wholesome. The illustrations were tasteful and sweet, perfect for a children's book. They were whimsical and so perfectly punk rock. The whole story is so wholesome and has such a great message for kids to get out of their comfort zones and explore the things that they are passionate about, even if others are not big fans.

I recommend this book to any parents who want a fun, whimsical book to read with their children that will make them giggle.

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books Inc. for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Not a huge fan of the execution of the rhymes and I feel like the purpose of the story could've been communicated a bit better, but I loved the art style. The illustrations are so good! I think kids will enjoy it well enough.

I absolutely loved the illustrations & the premise of this book. Walter, lovingly known as Goth Moth, knows he is a drummer. He silently plays & even that seems too violent for his nighttime creature friends. He dreams of meeting rock 'n' roll star Jitterbug & finally being able to play the drums LOUD and PROUD. However, he'd have to venture out into the light. The beautiful message of following your dreams & conquering your fears is prevalent, however, the rhyming text sometimes gets lost in the translation and is a little hard to follow. I do believe that this is a great read aloud for younger audiences and classrooms working on rhyming words. The rock easter eggs for adults throughout the illustrations make for a quirky, fun read for all.

The only downside of this picture book is that there's not more of it.

The story is charming and delivers exactly what it says in the synopsis, the rhyming is very cute and would be perfect to fall into the rhythm of a bedtime book, and the artwork is absolutely stunning-- full of depth and color with little jokes incorporated in the backgrounds.

What an adorable little book! My granddaughter loved to read this with me and the artwork is spectacular. The story is so cute and good for any shy little ones. This is a wonderful children’s book and will be adding this to my collection for my grandchildren once published.

This is the cutest most adorablest tale! We have here a story about a little moth on a journey to be different as different can be! Doing its own indivial thing and such a lesson was learned. Being and going along with the norm is highly overrated and this was dipicted so well in this story! Even as an adult I would pick this up as the cover was super intruguing. Will definitely be purchasing for my neice and nephew to read at bedtime!

Great book that both my children really enjoyed (8 and 5).
With cute rhyming verses which I always enjoy reading, and it seems to keep the attention of my kids more too.
Great storyline and very cute illustrations too.
Will definitely be looking out for this to add to my shelves rather than an ebook.

This one was enjoyed by everyone! Would love to purchase a physical copy for my shelf, as well as for my kids.

This was a very cute book. I could see a lot of people really enjoying this. The cover and title is what drew me in, but the story is what kept me reading!

I absolutely LOVED the art for this, and it was so well done! Every little rock n’ roll fan is going to enjoy this book, not to mention the parents. It’s very well done, and I hope I’ll be able to recommend it in reader’s advisory!!

Goth Moth is the follow up to Jitterbug by author Kai Luftner and illustrator Wiebke Rauers. This tale is about a shy moth, named Walter, who loves to rock out on the drums but his neighbors object to the noise. So this Goth Moth spends his time silently drumming until one day he goes to a concert put on by his favorite rock artist, Jitterbug. The pictures have a creepy-cozy vibe and are quirky and unique. Tim Mohr translated this book from the German edition. This book is a great choice for young musicians and artists and children who are waiting for some encouragement to come out of their shells.

I received an electronic ARC from NorthSouth Books Inc. through NetGalley.
I love the play on heavy metal band names on the end pages. I was laughing before I even started this story. Walter (Goth Moth) is a drummer and rocks hard at night. Others are not happy with the commotion so he feels alone. When his idol, Jitter, is playing a concert nearby. Goth Moth sets out to go even in the daylight. Not only does he attend, he gets to be part of the set. Dreams can come true and he remembers this time as it changes his life. The illustrations capture the music and conflicts as well as the resolution. I appreciate the message to be who you are and to challenge yourself to pursue your dreams.

I loved the illustrations and the positivity of self acceptance in the book, but the story just didn't stick with me. It didn’t seem to string together well, not very cohesive.

My favorite thing about this book was the art. The story was pretty cute but I don't think it really came across as very "goth" to me and the text just didn't seem to flow very well. I couldn't really tell who the target audience was supposed to be, kids or adults with a very specific interest.

This was so cute. Loved the rhyming and the illustrations. Cute lil goth moth living his lil goth dreams