Customer Reviews

Regards To The Man In The Moon (Reading Rainbow Book)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Louie is upset that his friends call his father "the junkman." But his father explains to him that all it takes is a little imagination to transform "junk". So with the help of his parents, Louie builds the spaceship Imagination I. The next morning, he and his friend Susie blast off into the wide expanses of space. At first they are a bit afraid, but that changes when they see wondrous things and discover new worlds. A mini adventure occurs when Ziggie and Ruthie---who have followed the two into space---run out of imagination and get stuck. This book introduces children to the mystery and beauty of outerspace. Keats' illustrations done with a combination of paint and collage are truly fantastic. However, I find that most importantly "Regards to the Man in the Moon" teaches children to let their imagination soar and transport them places they've never been, and where they can be anyone and do anything.

This is a great book for a few reasons and not just that Ezra Jack Keats wrote it. First, it addresses an important issue; that no matter what you look like, how you dress or how much money you don't have your friends are the ones who are true to you. In addition, your popularity can change within a few hours. Second, this story is great because it has inspired my kids to believe in the power of their dreams. My kids love this book; it really seems to fuel their imagination.

"All a person needs is some imagination, and a little of that stuff can take you out of this world"

Louie is embarrassed because his friends call him the junkman, so when he tells his dad, both his parents get to work showing Louie and his friends that junk is only in the eye of the beholder.

Louie had no idea that you could build a space explorer with the things in his backyard, but his parent understood and that set Louie on a day of adventure.

"It's not Voyager 3, it is Imagination 1"

Sometimes you just need the love of a parent and the faith of good friends to help you open your mind and imagine. Most importantly, if you become scared and run out of imagination, hitch your ship to a friend, and they will help you along.

Ezra Jack Keats is a classic picture book author. Your library isn't complete without at least a few of his books.

This one is less well-known, I think, than some of the others such as The Snowy Day... and I'm not very surprised.

The story itself is great. A kid is teased for his father owning a junkyard, and his parents help him use the junk to build a pretend spaceship... so he and some of the other kids pretend to travel through space, and the story is built up with what they pretend to see. Great!

Except I found it a little moralizing. Louie talks actively about "using our imagination" and "don't you have any imagination" and "they thought they ran out of imagination", and we're explicitly told that the two kids who "ran out of imagination" found themselves unable to move in their make-believe world (probably because they weren't really moving, but let's not go there). I don't hear children speaking like this in real life. It sounds more like teacher-talk than like child-talk to me - children are more likely to say "let's pretend" or "let's make like" - or to even just go ahead and *do* it. And if they can't come up with something, they say that or let somebody else make things up instead of bemoaning their lack of imagination.

It's still a good book, and a good addition to your library, but I prefer The Pet Show or Whistle for Willie instead.

I read Ezra Jack Keats books as a child and I decided to introduce my 2 year old son to Keats' books. I ordered Regards to the Man in the Moon from Amazon and my son absolutely loves it! My son loves to say "blast off!" and "barroomm!" as the children blast off into space. He loves the book so much that he even took it to bed :o)

This is one of my all time favorite books! I have to read this every year and I've used it with 4K to 4th graders. If there's one thing I hope students remember - use your imagination, stay creative.

This is another thoughtful and endearing story from a master, Ezra Jack Keats. The children suspend reality and use imagination power to turn junk into a trip to the moon. Fantastic!

I loved this book. It captures a child's imagination , well worth buying for a child under 8.