By: James Thurber Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Harcourt Children's Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 48 Publication Date: September 09, 1943 Reading Level: Ages 9-12
A wise tale of a little princess who wanted the moon and got it. “Grown-ups themselves will find the book hilariously funny. . . . The lovely, squiggly illustrations in color are exactly right.”--The New Yorker
I want the moon! This has to be one of the most hilarious and enchanting children's books ever written. It was written ages ago, and yet it still has such a power over everyone that it might as well be considered a classic (I hope it is) as it artfully combines a fairy tale, humor, and a soft and simple story of caring.
The story begins as the little Princess Lenore falls sick and claims that the only thing that will make her better is if she has the moon. Thus her father the King begins a quest to find someone that can bring her the moon. He consults the wisest in the kingdom, people who cannot even agree on what is what.
Thus comes a surprisingly thoughtful and intelligent story about observation and personal view that is educational as well as enchanting.
Beautifully done A beautiful little book for the elementary school set (illustrations by Louis Slobodkin are wavy and whimsical). The story concerns the princess Lenore, who is ill from "a surfeit of raspberry tarts." To make her well, the King offers to get her whatever she desires. What Princess Lenore desires, however, is the moon. The King and his advisors scramble to fulfill her wish, and then to preserve the illusion once they have given her the moon. It is Princess Lenore herself who comes up with the solutions to both problem, out thinking the worldly, wise advisers.Thuber's storytelling style is quite wonderful here -- the language is fairly simple, and there's a nice cadence of repetitive elements that kids will enjoy. A beautiful, funny and satisfying story.
What a beautiful story! I read this book many time to my daughter, since her age of three-four, she still enjoy it much. It is a beautiful, funny, and well written story. It is my definitely one of my favorite. It teaches you that what the world is after all it is what we think it is. What a lesson for the half-empty fellows! It is written in a crescendo on this theme until the end: the eye blinking moon. Beautiful.
A Non-Jesting Jester? The princess wanted the moon. Her father, the king, demanded it be gotten for her. As you can imagine, this causes problems for the king's servants. The Royal Wizard, Mathematician and the Lord High Chamberlain have done many near-impossible feats for the king--but getting the moon? It's out of the question! But the Royal Court Jester thinks not. (Is this another one of his jokes?) A funny story.
A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up
Decent story. Illustrations are sketched and mostly pastel colors are utiilized. After reading each detailed page, the pictures don't seem to do much for the imagination. Good ideas are behind the words, but this book is extremely wordy at times and could've been shortened while still making the same point known. I enjoyed how the King, who was in search for the moon for his sick daughter, continued to ask his smartest men to figure out a way to get his daughter the moon only to find out that the court jester was the wittiest of them all. The daughter helps solve her own problem without realizing it and comes to a wonderful conclusion about how she can have the moon in her hand and also see it in the sky.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
