Illustrated by: William Joyce
$12.99 56 pages, Ages: 4 - 8
Legends/Folklore
September 6, 2011
The Man in the Moon:
Up there in the sky.
Don't you see him?
No, not the moon.
The Man in the Moon.
He wasn't always a man.
Nor was he always on the moon.
He was once a child.
Like you.
Until a battle,
a shooting star,
and a lost balloon
sent him on a quest.
Meet the very first guardian of childhood. MiM, the Man in the Moon.
When the heroes of childhood
band together, anything is possible.
Get ready for an adventure of epic proportions.
band together, anything is possible.
Get ready for an adventure of epic proportions.
When I first heard about this book, I was so impressed with the website and its imagery, and I knew I had to have it for my four year old and nine year old. I was so excited to see it in real life because it is truly beautiful! We spent two nights reading it because it is not your average children's book, and it is 56 pages long. It is not written like a toddler's picture book, though it would be a very beautiful one if they scaled down the writing. As it is, The Man in the Moon is an enchanting story about a little boy in the moon we call MiM, and his gallant friend Nightlight who saves him from the evil darkness..
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| See evil darkness, Pitch, on the right? (click to enlarge) |
My toddler loved the story of the Nightlight, and my eldest enjoyed hearing a new story about a man in the moon which she never could really say she knew anything about in the first place. There were Lunar moths, and the Moon Clipper ship, helpful moon mice, visions of Earth far away.. I can't wait to see the Dreamworks movie Rise of the Guardians in the fall of 2012, which are based on books and artwork of William Joyce. I especially want to see the return of Nightlight, who was my toddler's favorite. My daughter really wanted to know more about MiM and the balloons he collected from the children from the earth.
This is going to be quite a series, as it tries to widen its net of potential readers (and viewers) with six chapter books and seven picture books. Evil darkness Pitch is said to be included in more of the books as well, as the author tries to help young readers conquer fears of the dark. The next book will be the chapter book in October, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, which features our favorite Santa Claus.
Keep your eyes open for these, folks! I am collecting all the books for my kiddos, as it will be something they will both enjoy for years to come. I love how there will be both picture books and chapter books to satisfy readers of all kids' ages. This has been an endeavour twenty years in the making for the author and artist, and it is nice to see how dreams can come true even for us older folks. Find out more information here: http://guardiansofchildhoodbooks.com/
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