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Title: Many Moons by James Thurber, Louis Slobodkin ISBN: 0-15-251873-8 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: April, 1981 Format: School & Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.93 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Never mind the blue poodles
Comment: The witty picture book is often considered to be a relatively new phenomenon. In this day and age there's an abundance of sly hip little books like "Olivia" or "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" everywhere you look. But clever picture books are by no means a new creation. I invite you to take a gander at the 1940s Caldecott winner, "Many Moons". If you don't find it the most sublime little work of art, I daresay I'll eat my hat.
In this story a little princess of ten years (going on eleven) become ill from eating, "a surfeit of raspberry tarts". The only cure she wishes for is for someone to get her the moon. Her father, the king, calls in his cleverest advisors, but no one can think of a way to bring the princess the moon. The court jester comes up with the answer, though by the end of the tale it is the princess who has shown true wisdom.
Author James Thurber is as equally well known for his witty cartoons in the "New Yorker" as he is for his books and articles. In this little gem he has taken his audience down a notch. Recognizing that wit and long words are just as appropriate for a five year old as a person of fifty, the book contains a series of delightful asides and ideas. For example, after listing his brilliant accomplishments to the king, the Royal Wizard points out that he also gave the king a cloak of invisibility.
"It didn't work," said the King. "The cloak of invisibility didn't work."
"Yes, it did," said the Royal Wizard.
"No, it didn't," said the King. "I kept bumping into things, the same as ever."
"The cloak is supposed to make you invisible," said the Royal Wizard. "It is not supposed to keep you from bumping into things."
"All I know is, I kept bumping into thing," said the King.
That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. It's funny. It's well-thought out. And it's a joy to read. Coupled with a series of splendid illustrations by Louis Slobodkin (whose style is suspiciously reminiscent of Thurber's own) the text is complimented excellently. If you're ready to read words to your children that consist of lines like, "midgets, and mermaids, frankincense, ambergris, and myrrh", then you're in good hands with this author. To be perfectly frank, rather than write this review I'd love to just copy down the entire book word for word and show you myself how good it is. But then you wouldn't see the pretty pictures and this WAS a Caldecott winner, after all. So I'm just going to have to trust that you understand how supremely good this book is and that you'll rush right out this very minute and get it for yourself. Few books are worth such efforts, but this is one of the few.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Innocent Wisdom of Childhood
Comment: This delightful Caldecott Medal winner is classic James Thurber and as such is filled with sweet humorous prose with a witty little message. Louis Slobodkin's simple yet evocative ink and water color illustrations help bring the story to life. When a little princess is ill her father, the king, is worried and is willing to get her anything her heart desires if only she will get well. When the princess decides she wants the moon she sets off a chain reaction of worries for the wisemen of the court as well as for the king. All of the best minds of the kingdom are dismayed when they cannot come up with a way to get the moon for the princess. Their final analysis: IMPOSSIBLE! The court Jester gets to the heart of the problem and with the help of the princess and the wisdom of childhood, not only presents the princess with her heart's desire but can explain why the moon still appears up in the sky. Don't miss this lovely book. It's a great tucker-inner and is as fun to read aloud as it is to hear it read.
Rating: 5
Summary: James Thurber's enchanting tale about wanting the moon
Comment: The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Many Moons" by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.
The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.
The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because everytime he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.
"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."
The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...
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Title: The Little Island by Golden Macdonald ISBN: 044040830X Publisher: Yearling Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship : A Russian Tale by Arthur Ransome, Uri Shulevitz ISBN: 0374424381 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 01 May, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, Marc Simont ISBN: 0064431479 Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 26 June, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Finders Keepers by Nicolas Mordvinoff, William Lipkind, Nicolas, Nicolas Will, Nicolas Mordinoff ISBN: 0156309505 Publisher: Voyager Books Pub. Date: August, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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Title: The Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi ISBN: 0684188317 Publisher: Atheneum Pub. Date: 15 July, 1987 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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