Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
{{short description|1986 children's book by Eric Carle}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
| image = Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.jpg
| caption =
| author = Eric Carle
| illustrator = Eric Carle
| cover_artist = Eric Carle
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = N/A
| genre = Children's literature
| publisher = Simon & Schuster
| pub_date = September 26, 1986
| pages = 25
| isbn = 978-0-88708-026-5
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc =
| preceded_by =N/A
| followed_by =N/A
}}
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me is a children's picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle, published by Simon & Schuster in 1986. It tells the story of a young girl, Monica, who wants to play with the Moon. As with Carle's earlier title The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969), merchandise has been based on this story and it has been adapted to animation.
Artwork
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me uses a distinctive collage style, typical of Carle's work by 1986, achieved by painting tissue paper, cutting it into pieces, and assembling it.{{cite web |title=Tissue paper transformations: Eric Carle's famous collages go from page to stage… |website=Dallas Children's Theater |date=9 November 2019 |url=https://blog.dct.org/tissue-paper-transformations-eric-carles-famous-collages-go-from-page-to-stage/ |access-date=23 May 2020}} The book's aim is to educate children about the phases of the Moon.
Description
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me tells the story of Monica, a young girl who dreams of playing with the Moon. She cannot reach it and asks her father to bring it to her. He gets a ladder and, placing it atop a huge mountain, ascends to the Moon only to discover it is too big to carry down. The Moon agrees to shrink, becoming a waning crescent, and Monica plays with it until it shrinks so small that it vanishes. As the nights go by, she watches the Moon gradually reappear in the sky, going from waxing crescent to full Moon.
The book introduces children to the lunar phases, showing the Moon "shrinking" and "growing" in the sky every night.{{cite journal |last1=Trundle |first1=Kathy Cabe |last2=Troland |first2=Thomas H. |last3=Pritchard |first3=T. Gail |title=Representations of the Moon in Children's Literature: An Analysis of Written and Visual Text |journal=Journal of Elementary Science Education |date=Winter 2008 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=17–28 |doi=10.1007/BF03174700 |jstor=43155811|bibcode=2008JESEd..20...17T |s2cid=143253986 }} The story also tackles concepts of wish-fulfillment and imagination.{{cite web |title=Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me |website=Teaching Children Philosophy |url=https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/BookModule/PapaPleaseGetTheMoonForMe |access-date=22 May 2020}}
Legacy
=Reception=
Publishers Weekly described Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me as "a wondrous work of art that will stand up to countless readings".{{cite web |title=Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me Review |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-88708-026-5 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=22 May 2020}} It was listed among the 100 greatest picture books by the New York Public Library.{{cite book |title=Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success |publisher=National Research Council, National Academic Press |year=2000 |page=40 |isbn=978-0-309-06410-1}} The book also received special mention by the Young Critic's Award from the International Literacy Association and the Parent’s Choice Award in Illustration, both in 1986.{{cite book |editor-last=Cullinan |editor-first=Bernice E. |editor-last2=Person |editor-first2=Diane Goetz |title=The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature |publisher=A&C Black Publishing |year=2005 |page=147 |isbn=9780826415165}} Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me was criticized in the Journal of Elementary Science Education for inaccurately depicting the lunar cycle.
=Adaptation=
In 1993, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me was adapted to television and released on VHS as part of an anthology called The World of Eric Carle (alternatively known as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories in the UK and Ireland). The animated collection also included The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969), The Very Quiet Cricket (1990), The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975), and I See a Song (1973). The collection was made by the Illuminated Film Company for Scholastic Productions, directed by Andrew Goff and produced by Ian Harvey. The soundtrack was written by Wallace and Gromit composer Julian Nott.{{cite web |title=The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories |url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/tv-season/very-hungry-caterpillar-other/id826374687 |website=iTunes |access-date=22 May 2020}}{{cite book |title=The very hungry caterpillar and other stories by Eric Carle |via=WorldCat |oclc=1053913354 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1053913354 |access-date=21 May 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite journal |author=Kathy Cabe Trundle |author2=Thomas H. Troland |title=The Moon in Children's Literature: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Introducing Misconceptions when Reading About the Moon |journal=Science and Children |date=October 2005 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=40–43 |jstor=43173870}}
- {{cite journal |author=Pat Fitzsimmons |author2=Diana Leddy |author3=Lindy Johnson |author4=Sue Biggam |author5=Suzan Locke |title=The Moon Challenge: Engaging Students in a Variety of Instructional Strategies |journal=Science and Children |date=September 2013 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=36–41 |jstor=43176073}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Portal|Children's literature}}
- [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47674.Papa_Please_Get_the_Moon_for_Me Book reviews] at Goodreads
- [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12978156 Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me] at WorldCat
{{Eric Carle}}
Category:1986 children's books
Category:American picture books
Category:Picture books by Eric Carle