The Moon Shines Down [Hardcover]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Linda Bleck (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008 | Age Level: 3 and up

The Moon Shines Down

by Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrated by Linda Bleck  

Forgotten for decades in a dusty, tucked-away trunk, The Moon Shines Down brings to life once more the unmistakable voice of Margaret Wise Brown. This soon-to-be classic allows a whole new generation of children to discover, cherish, and enjoy the artistry of this beloved author.

Never before published, The Moon Shines Down on children all over the world from right next door to across the sea, from where "a Dutch boy dreams" and "cowbells ring" to "across the sea in the Far, Far East", through the familiar prayer:

I see the Moon

And the Moon sees me.

God bless the Moon,

And God bless me.

Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952) was a pioneer of children's literature, choosing to write the stories that children wanted to hear-rather than those that grown-ups wanted to tell. She is best known for her now classic Good Night Moon and Runaway Bunny, which remain among the world's best-selling children's books.

Margaret was a prolific writer, and, at the peak of her career, she had over 100 books in print. Her untimely death left numerous manuscripts and ideas behind in various stages of completion. After a time, these were tucked away in a cedar trunk and largely forgotten. It is from this forgotten trunk that The Moon Shines Down was rescued. 

Illustrator Linda Bleck began her artistic career as a child, drawing on rolls of old blueprint paper supplied by her architect father. Later, she helped her mother, a freelance illustrator for Hallmark, paint in the details of her intricate drawings. Linda's work has appeared in The NewYorker, Time Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She is also the writer and illustrator of the "Pepper the Dog" series, which won the National Parenting Publication Award.

Linda and her family now live in southern Wisconsin . . . where the moon shines down on them, one and all.

The Story Behind the Lost Manuscript . . . 

The Moon Shines Down

from MARGARET WISE BROWN,

the Author of Goodnight Moon 

The Moon Shines Down is being published for the first time 56 years after the death of the beloved children's author Margaret Wise Brown.

Amazingly, this unpublished manuscript lay incomplete and forgotten in a cedar trunk in a Vermont barn. When it was discovered, the onionskin paper had yellowed and the paperclips that held the pages together had rusted. Children's book publisher, Laura Minchew, a longtime fan of Brown, took on the challenge to complete the work.

Based on the New England Sampler prayer, "God Bless the Moon and God Bless Me," this soon-to-be bedtime classic is a prayer for God's blessing on all the world's children.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Moon Shines Down is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of the Mom's Choice Awards. Parents and educators look for the Moms Choice Awards seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award. --Mom's Choice Awards

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140031299X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400312993
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With stood the test..., November 19, 2008

By 

Timothy M. Dunn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moon Shines Down (Hardcover)

Like many in my age demographic, my exposure to children's books was very limited prior to the arrival and subsequent reading patterns of my 18-month-old son. When given the opportunity to read the latest offering from the author who gave us "Goodnight Moon", (which my wife says is a "classic" children's book) I thought I would try it. When the book arrived, I decided to expose it to the toughest critic in our house...the attention span of my son. We let Noah watch very little TV, and read at least half a dozen books to him a day.
At 48 pages, classic author or not, this would be a sizeable test for him and the book.
The results were overwhelming...the story is essentially that God shines the moon, and blesses children all over the world. Noah was glued from the very first page! Every time I thought we had lost him, he was simply repositioning himself to get a better look at the beautiful illustrations. He commented on every page, yelling out what was familiar to him, and attempting to speak new words. As a parent, I want my son to know the size of God, and his mutual heart for people all over the world. The book did a great job communicating that in word and image. I feel safe in speaking for both myself and Noah...two thumbs up.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, November 20, 2008

By 

John Umland (Southeast CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moon Shines Down (Hardcover)

Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of my favorite books to read to small children, especially at bedtime. My youngest just turned nine so those days are long gone in my household.

Sigh.

I enjoyed so much the rhythm, cadence, and meter of that book. It just rolled off the tongue. I recently received a "lost" book of Ms. Brown's for review, titled The Moon Shines Down. The introduction states that this book is based on the New England sampler prayer,

I see the moon
and the moon sees me
The moon sees the somebody I'd like to see.
God bless the moon
and God bless me
God bless the somebody I'd like to see!

Unfortunately, the publisher felt the manuscript was "too short for a standard size picture book," so they asked a fan of Ms. Brown's to fill it out. The introduction continues that the supplemental author, Laura Minchew, was able to capture "Brown's unique rhythms and rhyme schemes." "Unique" is an adequate euphemism, because the rhythms and schemes are wooden and out of sync or rhyme. One example of odd rhyme is "And the Moon sees the kids in Mexico/....//And God bless the Toucan and her funny nose." That one hurts.

The flow of the story is stilted. It seems to go from children in foreign countries, to animals in Australia, to Christmas, to the sea. I didn't see a progression. Perhaps there was a reason Ms. Brown "lost" the manuscript.

The pictures are nice, and I'm sure a small child would enjoy pointing at the creatures and people in the pictures, but the parent who has to read the same story over and over again will make sure this book finds an out of reach spot on the bookshelf.

I have one offense with this book. The rhyme reads "And all the children in every country-- / In Australia, Norway, and Italy,/ Africa,...." Africa is a continent, not a country. We don't want our children someday to be accused of not knowing that important fact.

Unfortunately, I have to give this book a thumbs down.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Writing Ok...Illustrations Awesome!, November 29, 2008

By 

N. Tibbetts - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moon Shines Down (Hardcover)

This book was in hiding for more than 50 years, and was only recently discovered. When it was found, it was much too short for immediate publication. So, Laura Minchew (a children's book publisher and fan of Brown's) wrote additional verses to complete the book.
Some of the verses flowed more freely than others. Which made me wonder which ones were written by Brown, and which ones were written by Minchew? Overall the book has a lovely theme. Children all over the world fall asleep each night with the same moon shining down upon them.

With seven countries and the ocean mentioned, parents can take the opportunity to discuss various topics such as geography, language, culture, etc...

Linda Bleck is an amazingly talented illustrator. In fact, the illustrations were our family's favorite part of this book. Before reading the book, we took the time to look over each page, admire the illustrations, and search for the koala (often hidden) on the page.

Even though I do not believe this book is Brown's best work, we did enjoy reading it together, and will again I am certain.