Many Moons - James Thurber

A charming and well-illustrated tale.

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Common Sense rates it
4
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Book details
  • Author:James Thurber
  • # of pages: 48
  • Publisher:Harcourt Brace and Co.
  • Original Publication Date: 01/01/1943
  • Genre: Fiction - Picture Book
  • Paperback: $7.00
  • Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: Ages 4-8
  • Read Aloud: 2-4
  • Awards:Caldecott Medal

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that there's nothing of concern in this classic, which has been enjoyed by adults and children for more than half a century.

Families can talk about wisdom. Why do the wise men all have different ideas about the moon?

Message

Social Behavior:

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Sex

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Amy Brotman

All the king's specialists can't get the moon for his daughter, but the jester does. How? By asking the princess the right questions and acting on her answers. There's another worrisome problem, and again it's the jester who sees the solution--after the princess points it out. Kids will appreciate that a child helps solve the problem in this charming and well-illustrated tale.



Is it any good?

4

This reillustrated classic comes stylishly dressed in Marc Simont's watercolors, which sweep across the pages. The jester leaps into the king's presence, the king eloquently frowns at the royal mathematician's swarm of equations, and the princess assesses the moon as she stands in a shadow.

James Thurber's text is graceful and witty. Ten-year-old Lenore's illness isn't all that serious, but her father's reaction to it is touching: She wants the moon, he'll get her the moon. The silly wise men's lists of their absurd accomplishments are mixed with their wives' shopping lists, adding extra humor. Kids will appreciate that the young princess and the childlike jester solve the story's problems.

Other choices

Another tough question is cleverly resolved in a reissued book from the same time period, and for the same readership, in Finders Keepers, by William Lipkind. Buttons, by Brock Cole, is an original fairy tale that also revolves around the wisdom of apparent foolishness.

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