Customer Reviews

The Moon Was at a Fiesta

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"Mom, why is Luna still in the sky?" My children have asked me this very question. Matthew Gollub's original creation myth seeks to answer this query in this delightful picture book. A jealous Moon wants to commune with the human race like the Sun. She enlists the aid of her new friends and the festival planners. To honor her, the padrinos arrange all to create a colorful celebration, replete with lanterns and manigotes (giant papier-māché puppets). Even a mermaid joins the effort. After much food and dancing, the Moon and the villagers fall asleep when the Sun arrives. The illustrations by Oaxacan artist Leovigildo Martinínez remind me of the pottery of the region, shaded bright colors over sand and earth tones. His art lends a mythic quality to the real life festivities that this story describes. At the back of the book, you will find a few Spanish terms defined and a short historical note that invites discussion. My 4 and 8-year-old children and I have talked about the ways that different peoples seek to understand their world. "The Moon was at a Fiesta" has opened up an opportunity to explore a multi-cultural milieu of fable and legend. Mr. Gollub has, in fact, written another such story that I can recommend, "Uncle Snake," with pictures by the same artist. Both stories are wonderful additions to lend an international quality to your child's bookshelf. Both are also available in Spanish.

The Moon Was at a Fiesta
Uncle Snake

This tale about the Moon first attracted me with its illustrations by Leovigildo Martinez (Torres). The flattened, angular faces seem to mirror the crescent moon of the story created by Matthew Gollub. The two artists fashioned a colorful Fiesta for the moon who feels diminished by the sumptuous celebrations held under the aegis of the Sun. There are cultural details to discover everywhere.

The crafts of the region are showcased: stilt-legged Monigotes dance around, cut paper decorations are festooned, lanterns, food & drink are plentiful. Then the mermaid and even the Moon 'party' to excess. Remorse follows, and in Oaxaca, if people rise when the sun and moon share the sky, it is said that "The moon was at a Fiesta!"

The tidbits of history are great fun on the page with a glossary. Reviewer mcHaiku only wishes that for elementary students a few patterns for cut paper garlands could be added. This is a truly colorful and inexpensive craft, as original as the collaboration by Gollub and Martinez. A wonderful book to share with children who will be caught up in the excitement of preparations in this orginal folk tale.