Product Description

Monica wants the moon to play with, so her Papa sets out to get it. It isn't easy to climb to the moon, but he finally succeeds -- only to find the moon is too big to carry home. Children will love the joyful way in which this problem is solved.

Now available as a Classic Board Book edition, this delightful story literally unfolds as pages open dramatically, extending both outward and upward.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18253 in Books
• Published on: 1991-08-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Carle, whose The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been extraordinarily successful, scores again with this stunning picture book, drawn in thick, brilliant brushstrokes of blues and greens and reds that dazzle the eye. Monica wants to play with the moon, but can't reach it, so she asks her father to get it for her. Ingeniously designed with several fold-out pages, the books opens out horizontally to show a very long ladder Papa fetches, opens vertically to show him climbing the ladder above a very high mountain, and unfolds into a huge spread of the full moon, where the ladder has led Papa. But the moon is too big for him to carry, so he waits while it grows smaller, until finally it is the right size to bring home to Monica. She jumps and dances and frolics with it, but it keeps shrinking, until one day it's gone. But not for long: a thin sliver soon appears in the sky, growing larger and becoming full once again. A splendid introduction to the monthly lunar cycle, this is also a wondrous work of art that will stand up to countless readings.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1 A simple story, briefly told, which revolves around the waxing and waning of the moon. Monica asks Papa to bring her the moon, that she might play with it. By dint of "a very long ladder" and a mountain, Papa reaches the moon, waits until it becomes smaller, and obligingly retrieves it. Of course the moon continues to shrink and soon disappears, but a few nights later Monica sees it once again in the sky, where it begins to grow anew. Many of the pages fold out to double their size, which will delight young listeners but may be awkward for the storyteller during a group experience. Carle's illustrations are up to his usual excellence, bright and uncluttered, with the benignant moon a dominant feature. The flaw here is a weak ending; children are not exactly left hanging, but neither is there a strong sense of conclusion. While this is not a pourquoi tale in the true sense of the word, the changing moon is a familiar subject, and the illustrations have enough merit to attract children. Kathleen Brachmann, Highland Park Public Library, Ill.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Card catalog description
Monica's father fulfills her request for the moon by taking it down after it is small enough to carry, but it continues to change in size. Some pages fold out to display particularly large pictures.

Customer Reviews

Small; story disappointing
This book was much smaller than I expected (I bought the hardcover edition). It's about the size of my hand. The story disappointed me too. It starts out fine, but you're left hanging at the end. I don't think I'd have bought it if I had read it in the store.

SYNOPSIS
Monica sees the full moon, asks Papa to get it. Papa gets long ladder, goes to moon. Moon is too big; moon tells Papa to wait. Papa waits until moon is smaller, brings it to Monica. Monica plays with the moon. "But the moon kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller and finally it disappeared altogether. Then one night, Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear. Each night the moon grew... and grew and grew..." That's how it ends -- with a two page illustration of the full moon.

Good book - but with a few small caveats
This is a short story about a girl who wants to play with the moon, sending her dad to get it. We go through a half a month until the moon is small enough to take home, and then it disappears - but it comes back in the sky in the next half a month.

Several of the pages have fold-outs of some sort, most noticeably the big spread where the full moon talks to Monica's father. These fold-outs are a little delicate, possibly too delicate for the small hands who expect to use board books. You might want to wait until your child is older and then simply get the bigger, non-board edition.

Unlike some commenters here, I have an actual board book, with the same ISBN as listed. I don't know what happened with their books.

Love this book!
I originally picked up this book because my daughter, 2, calls her dad "papa" rather than "daddy" and I thought it would be fun even though it seemed a little ahead of her. Let me tell you, she can't get enough of this book! She LOVES it and she gets the story. She's just 2 as in 24 months old, and she sees the moon outside now and asks her papa for it. I love it and highly recommend this book to anyone!