Many Moons
Encyclopedia
Many Moons is a children's picture book
written by James Thurber
and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
. It was published by Harcourt, Brace & Company
in 1943 and won the Caldecott Medal
in 1944. Princess Lenore becomes ill, and only one thing will make her better: the moon. Unlike much of Thurber's other work, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
and his fables, this story shows a crisis between males and females that ends happily for all.
Despite winning the Caldecott Medal with Slobodkin's original illustrations, a reprint in 1990 by Harcourt featured the text accompanied by new illustrations by Marc Simont
.
It was made into an opera by American composer, Celius Dougherty. It was also made into a play, adapted by Charlotte Chorpenning
.
Many Moons is about a sick princess who wants the moon. The princess is perhaps more sick at heart than body. Her father, the king, is enraged when the wizards, the Lord High Chamberlain, and the mathematician court can't get the moon. In the end, it is the jester who realizes that the princess thinks the moon is only as big as her thumbnail and made of gold, so he goes to the goldsmith, who makes a necklace with a gold sphere on it. the jester gives it to the princess. The King then worries that she will see the moon in the sky that night and realize that the necklace was not the real moon. The jester goes to check on her. the princess thinks that whenever something is taken, it is replaced, like her tooth, a unicorn's horn and flowers.
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
written by James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
Louis Slobodkin
Louis Slobodkin , born in Albany, New York was a sculptor, author and illustrator of numerous children's books....
. It was published by Harcourt, Brace & Company
Harcourt Trade Publishers
Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...
in 1943 and won the Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
in 1944. Princess Lenore becomes ill, and only one thing will make her better: the moon. Unlike much of Thurber's other work, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
and his fables, this story shows a crisis between males and females that ends happily for all.
Despite winning the Caldecott Medal with Slobodkin's original illustrations, a reprint in 1990 by Harcourt featured the text accompanied by new illustrations by Marc Simont
Marc Simont
Marc Simont is an artist, political cartoonist, and illustrator of more than a hundred children's books. Marc, inspired by his father, Spanish painter Joseph Simont, began drawing at a very young age. Mr...
.
It was made into an opera by American composer, Celius Dougherty. It was also made into a play, adapted by Charlotte Chorpenning
Charlotte Chorpenning
Charlotte B. Chorpenning was a children's playwright. When she was 60 years old, after her husband died, she began writing plays for children. She was also the artistic director of the children's theatre at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, and remains the most produced playwright in Goodman...
.
Many Moons is about a sick princess who wants the moon. The princess is perhaps more sick at heart than body. Her father, the king, is enraged when the wizards, the Lord High Chamberlain, and the mathematician court can't get the moon. In the end, it is the jester who realizes that the princess thinks the moon is only as big as her thumbnail and made of gold, so he goes to the goldsmith, who makes a necklace with a gold sphere on it. the jester gives it to the princess. The King then worries that she will see the moon in the sky that night and realize that the necklace was not the real moon. The jester goes to check on her. the princess thinks that whenever something is taken, it is replaced, like her tooth, a unicorn's horn and flowers.