No One Walks on My Father's Moon [Hardcover]

Chara M. Curtis (Author), Rebecca Hyland (Illustrator)

Book Description

There once lived a boy who was eager to learn all this great world could teach him. (From the text.)

Recommended for ages 9 through adult.

A boy races home to share the exciting news with his father: a man has walked on the moon! But he is hurt and bewildered by his father's reaction. “No man can walk on the face of God's shining light!”� Seeking only to understand, the boy learns to reconcile scientific discovery with religious poetry. He learns that “in truth is the many in one,”� and allows that truth to return him to love.

The story could be written of any time or place where truth is perceived as “either/or.”� In this tale of father and son, the conflicts of generations, cultures and creeds are viewed from the depth of understanding and heart of compassion that have endeared Ms. Curtis to readers worldwide.

Rebecca Hyland's illustrations resonate with the sensitivity that has made No One Walks on My Father's Moon a treasure, utilized in university-level Children's Literature/Critical Theory classrooms and discussed in articles such as that which appeared in Tikkun Magazine in Spring 2010 (http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/mar2010wend-walker).

No One Walks on My Father's Moon was honored in 1997 with the Washington State Governor's Writers Award.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Turkish schoolboy's excited announcement about the first lunar landing enrages his Islamic fundamentalist father, who is convinced that the news cannot be true and beats the boy for lying. When the father holds out his hand afterward for his son to kiss, in keeping with custom, Curtis explains in characteristically over-earnest tones that "the beating had hurt the boy's heart even more than it had hurt his body, and so his lips fell cold and numb against his father's hand, the warm blood of love no longer flowing through his veins." A wise teacher comforts the grieving boy by suggesting that the moon is different for each person who sees it. The teacher's conclusion, "in truth is the many in one," helps the boy understand his father's point of view and achieve reconciliation. The story's point, that one can respect and love another even if he or she holds beliefs contrary to one's own, makes less of an impression than the great pomp and circumstance with which it is delivered. While the book is attractive to look at?it's handsomely designed and Hyland's watercolors are set off by elaborate borders?stressing the worthiness of a given message isn't necessarily the right strategy for appealing to a child. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-8. The tension between science and religion is movingly dramatized in this picture book set in Turkey and based on a true story. A young boy is thrilled to hear that a man has walked on the moon, but his Islamic father beats him severely for the blasphemy of challenging the Koran. "No one can walk on the face of God's shining light!" his father cries in rage. The boy is furious with his father, but with the help of a kind teacher, he comes to realize that although only one moon revolves around the earth, it is a different moon for each one who sees it. The message is too heavily spelled out, with much talk of feeling your pain and healing. But many readers will recognize the conflict between generations and between different ways of knowing, whether the subject is the moon walk or evolution or Genesis. The framed watercolor paintings are beautifully detailed, placing one boy's stirring story against scenes of the traditional village, the modern schoolroom, the scientific facts, and the religious vision. Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Voyage Pub (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096494541X
• ISBN-13: 978-0964945418
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since her Minnesota school days, Chara Curtis has immersed herself in reading books of all kinds and creative writing. After working in advertising and music publishing in Chicago and Nashville, she moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she lives in a neighborhood occupied by dogs, cats, deer, raccoons, squirrels, birds, earthworms and snails, as well as a number of gentle people. In 1997, Chara and illustrator Rebecca Hyland received the Washington State Governor's Writers Award for their book, NO ONE WALKS ON MY FATHER'S MOON.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DEEP!, April 1, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: No One Walks on My Father's Moon (Hardcover)

My daughter read it aloud to me twice. I could see that she was moved. This is an excellent book for youngsters who are trying to make sense of different opinions, who are exposed to several world-views. It's a story about inter-generational understanding. A special book for sensitive, searching young souls.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Product Description from Author, December 28, 2010

By 

Chara M. Curtis (Anacortes, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No One Walks on My Father's Moon (Kindle Edition)

There once lived a boy who was eager to learn all this great world could teach him.
(From the text.)

Recommended for ages 9 through adult.

A boy races home to share the exciting news with his father: a man has walked on the moon! But he is hurt and bewildered by his father's reaction. "No man can walk on the face of God's shining light!" Seeking only to understand, the boy learns to reconcile scientific discovery with religious poetry. He learns that "in truth is the many in one," and allows that truth to return him to love.

The story could be written of any time or place where truth is perceived as "either/or." In this tale of father and son, the conflicts of generations, cultures and creeds are viewed from the depth of understanding and heart of compassion that have endeared Ms. Curtis to readers worldwide.

Rebecca Hyland's illustrations resonate with the sensitivity that has made No One Walks on My Father's Moon a treasure, utilized in university-level Children's Literature/Critical Theory classrooms and discussed in articles such as that which appeared in Tikkun Magazine, Spring 2010 (http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/mar2010wend-walker).

No One Walks on My Father's Moon was honored in 1997 with the Washington State Governor's Writers Award.

4.0 out of 5 stars Product, December 28, 2010

By 

Chara M. Curtis (Anacortes, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No One Walks on My Father's Moon (Kindle Edition)

There once lived a boy who was eager to learn all this great world could teach him.
(From the text.)

Recommended for ages 9 through adult.

A boy races home to share the exciting news with his father: a man has walked on the moon! But he is hurt and bewildered by his father's reaction. "No man can walk on the face of God's shining light!" Seeking only to understand, the boy learns to reconcile scientific discovery with religious poetry. He learns that "in truth is the many in one," and allows that truth to return him to love.

The story could be written of any time or place where truth is perceived as "either/or." In this tale of father and son, the conflicts of generations, cultures and creeds are viewed from the depth of understanding and heart of compassion that have endeared Ms. Curtis to readers worldwide.

Rebecca Hyland's illustrations resonate with the sensitivity that has made No One Walks on My Father's Moon a treasure, utilized in university-level Children's Literature/Critical Theory classrooms and discussed in articles such as that which appeared in Tikkun Magazine in Spring 2010 ([...]).

No One Walks on My Father's Moon was honored in 1997 with the Washington State Governor's Writers Award.