Customer Reviews

Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Author Eric Carle (The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider) excels in creating books that offer children more than words on a page -- he consistently incorporates additional elements (lights, holes(!), textures) that make the books even more interesting to thirsty little minds.

In this book, a smaller portable version of the original, a girl asks her father for the moon. Fold-out pages complement Carle's unique illustrative style as we discover a looooooong ladder that reaches to the moon and back, and a magnificent four-page center spread revealing the full moon in all its glory.

This fantastic tale for young children is sure to delight parents and kids.

My daughter's Kindergarten teacher recommended this book because it seems the kids really take to it. My daughter, who is 4, said it's a really, really funny book. I personally love the large format of the hardback edition, because the foldout ladder after all has to be very big, to reach the moon.

I have 20-month old twins who absolutely adore this book. We got it out from the library and they've wanted me to read it to them every day...many times a day. They love the pictures and how the pages flip up or down. They are facinated with the moon and the stars. They may not exactly understand yet what this book is about, however, it gets them interested in reading. We own many of Eric Carle books and this is one of my (and their)personal favorites. It really is timeless. A great story!

I would be careful letting your really young children play with this one alone since the pages are thin and easily ripped. It is one to read to them and put away after you're done.

You hear about this sometimes. An artist becomes so famous and influential that they're eventually able to go back to some of their earlier works and (to their mind) improve them. Steven Spielberg did it with "E.T." Singer/songwriters are constantly reinventing their old classics. Eric Carle did it with "Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me". And though I usually object heartily to artistic preferences changing old classics that technically belong to the masses (ya hear that Speilberg???), in Carle's case I'm willing to make an exception. Changing a mildly interesting story into a complicated (but hearty) pseudo pop-up book, Carle has recreated his art the only way an artist should: he has made it better.

Following in the tradition of such children-asking-their-parents-for-the-moon classics as "Many Moons" (highly recommended!), in this simple story a girl asks her father to please get her that large circular piece of rock in the sky. The father complies, hauling out the longest ladder anyone has ever seen and taking it to the tallest mountain in the world. Initially depressed by the fact that the moon is (surprise!) too large to bring to his daughter, the father is eventually comforted by the moon itself. It tells the man that if he just waits for it to wax and wane, it'll become a manageable size in no time. This turns out to be the case and the little girl is delighted when the father hands her the sliver that is the moon to play with.

The book flap says that by reading this book, children will come to realize that, "even a seemingly unreachable goal can actually be attained". I dunno about that. If that's the moral of this story, then I want no part of it. No, the message I received from this tale is that a man will sometimes move heaven and earth to bring his children the things they want the most in the world. They might not always succeed, but if a man were able to get the moon for his daughter, he'd do so.

Carle's illustrations are classic Carle. I'm personally a little lukewarm on him. The pictures here are a little more swirly and paint based than his usual cut paper concoctions. The book flap mentions that for the reissue of this book Carle, "created new illustrations for his original story", so I do not know how much he has changed. If the pictures are lovely, however, they are merely a compliment to the book's real joys. Pages in this story fold out to reveal the enormity of the father's task. A single ladder, once the pages are unfolded, takes over a four page spread. And the moon itself, when at its full capacity, opens up to become larger than the book that holds it. The effect is stunning and enjoyable for those kids that love interactive pictures. Nicest of all is the durability of the paper used for these effects. I'm sure we've all seen the effects a three-year old can wreak on a pop-up book it loves. I took this book, published in 1986, from my local library and the pages STILL work just as well as the day they were made. If that's not sturdiness, I don't know what is.

Should you be scientifically inclined and you object to such notions as a moon being physically smaller when it is but a crescent, avoid this story. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a good fold out pop-up book enlivened by colorful cut-out illustrations as much as the next guy, then I highly recommend this delightful piece of lunar propaganda. It is certain to be beloved of millions of star gazing children worldwide.

This book is the beautiful story of a dad who goes to all lengths for his daughter - he actually gets the moon for her!
In typical "Carle fashion" this book expands (as the moon appears to do), the pages ascend ever higher (as the moon ascends in the sky). As with Carle's other stories you don't just hear them and see them - you FEEL them. I love the motion in this book. The tenderness of the gift from father to daughter and the representaion of the child's joy in playing with the moon. This story has a wonderful opening, fantastic struggle and beautiful ending. I especially enjoy how the moon itself is a character in the book.

When I was a child, I loved the moon and I always wanted the moon so I loved this book a lot. It really is a good book for kids. Eric Carle is a really good author, I love his books. they are very well writen!

I thought I was getting a full-sized book, but instead I received this teeny-tiny mini book that is so small I don't see what the purpose of having it is. I don't remember seeing anywhere that the book would be 2 " X 3" - so just a warning to anyone who thinks they are ordering a normal book.

Every night my daughter wants us to go outside and look for the moon. When I saw this book I knew I had to get it and she LOVES it. We change the name from "monica" to our daughters name, and when you get to the moon pop-out page she always laughs and screams and jumps. I also recommend "The night moon fell down" - another wonderful favorite.

I got this book for my toddler. He was fascinated to see all sizes and shapes of the moon and relate them to the real moon. He now gets up saying "moon grew and grew".

When I draw for him he wants me to draw the phases of the moon. He loves the part where the dad tries to climb up and up for the moon. He loves this book.

But unfortunately , I think I should have delayed giving him this book. The page where the moon unfolds is very flimsy. My son wants to look at that page and there is no way the book is going to stand a toddler's grab! That is my only concern. I got the board book online thinking that I could give it to him to read for himself. He likes to do that. But this book has been a sad experience for him in that way as he can't have the book he really loves.

Infact he can even handle hardcover or paperback books well. But the unfolding moon is very flimsy and doesnt fold back very well after a few reading sessions.

Cute book but I guess I didn't notice the size- about the size of folded wallet.