It was originally published in Great Britain by HarperCollins in September 2014, to coincide with the centenary commemorations of World War I, in which the novel's time period is set in.

The story takes place in the Scilly Isles, off the coast of Cornwall, in 1915 during World War I, when German U-boats are constantly patrolling the sea in that region, looking to sink British ships.

[3] He also states that additional research led him to the stories of how the people of Kinsale in southern Ireland, a town near where the ship went down, went out in their boats to rescue some of the passengers, and to retrieve the dead bodies.

[3] RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat during the First World War on 7 May 1915, about 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland.

[11] In 2015, it was published by Gallimard Jeunesse in France as Le mystère de Lucy Lost,[12] where it was awarded the Prix Sorcières the following year in the junior novels category.

[13] In his review of Le mystère de Lucy Lost, Laurence Bertels wrote in La Libre that "torpedoed during the First World War, it [Lusitania] suffered a fate almost as tragic as the Titanic; Morpurgo slips this documentary dimension with skill into a novel which does not lack breath and whose reading will certainly make young readers grow; another masterpiece".

[14] Ann Moore wrote in the School Library Journal that "this is a superbly written, gripping novel of friendship, family, healing, and war; this is one of Morpurgo's best works to date".

[15] Kirkus Reviews wrote "Morpurgo returns to World War I in a beautifully crafted, multivoiced novel about the sinking of the Lusitania, the strength of family bonds, the vicissitudes of memory, and the fear and bigotry of neighbors; Alfie's third-person tale provides the main storyline, supported by other voices, including excerpts from the doctor's journal and the narrow-minded school principal's records of his horrible teaching theories; it is through Lucy's voice that all the elements of the tale weave together both beautifully and dramatically".

[16] Gail Bush from The Booklist said that "chapters intertwined with the narrative describing Merry’s interests in music, drawing, horses, and the moon help readers understand the girl; while back matter duly describes the tale’s historic and geographic significance, it is Morpurgo’s finely woven tapestry of community, trust, endurance, and unconditional family love that keep the Lusitania best remembered".

[19] Alison Hurst of the School Librarian said, "it is hardly surprising that this book screams out as a 'must read'; this complex and original story enthrals from page one; the narrative links the calamitous, yet fascinating, sinking of the Lusitania, a little girl discovered, quite wild, on an uninhabited isle in the Scillies, daily life on the Isles of Scilly during that period and personal tragedies; informative, enlightening and, above all, highly enjoyable".

[21] English writer Tony Bradman opined that "the story has its faults; at 437 pages it is way too long, especially for a 'middle-grade' novel; tt starts well, but the first half is slow and should have been trimmed; and the lengthy extracts from the journal of the local doctor who treats Lucy could easily have been cut: several of the secondary characters – a bully, a nasty headteacher and a crazy uncle – feel rather perfunctory; this might not be vintage Morpurgo, but it is still a pretty good read".

[24][25] Producer Marc du Pontavice said he first read Listen to the Moon in 2017, and that he thought the "themes of family, love and memory against a backdrop of vivid landscapes, would translate beautifully to the screen".