Module 3: Many Moons by James Thurber & Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

Summary: Many Moons by James Thurber is about a princess named Lenore who is sick. She asks her dad, the king, to being her to moon so that she could get better. The king calls upon all of his subjects such as the Lord High Chamberlain, the royal wizard, and the royal mathematician but they all claim different reason as to why they cannot bring the moon to him. He calls for the Court Jester to explain his problem and the Court Jester figures out a solution. The Court Jester races to Lenore’s room to ask her how big and what she thinks the moon is made of. She tells him it is no bigger than her thumb nail and is made of gold. The Court Jester goes to the Royal Goldsmith to make a thumb nail made of gold to be put on a necklace for Lenore. He gives it to her and she feels so much better. The king is satisfied but only for a short while because soon Lenore will see that they moon is shining outside and it’s not actually on her necklace. He calls his royal subjects once again to help him think of how to hide the moon from Lenore. He sends them all away because none of them have acceptable answers. The Court Jester is summoned once again to figure out a solution. He runs up to Lenore’s room, who is staring at the moon outside, and asks her why the moon is shining when it’s around her neck. She tells the Jester that the moon has grown back like flowers do when they are cut. The Court Jester hadn’t thought of that and soon after Lenore falls asleep.   

Citation: Thurber, J. (1943) Many moons. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company

Impressions: This story deserved to be a Caldecott winner. I have come to enjoy the simplicity of all of these stories. It has the same repetition scheme that I’ve noticed in most of the books. I think that these books are truly extraordinary for their cleverness. I hadn’t thought about the many ways the moon was portrayed. It listed many that were familiar to me as a child. The characters were light hearted and comical. I thought that the lists of things that the royal subjects has said were very detailed and funny. The drawings seemed minimal and there wasn’t much color either. Again, this is another trend for these books that I’ve noticed.

Reviews:

From School Library Journal                                       PreS-Gr 3-- Although the Caldecott-winning edition illustrated by Louis Slobodkin (HBJ, 1943) is the one that many parents and librarians grew up with, this new full-color version by Simont has a charm of its own. His illustrations are more modern in appearance, although the essentially periodless style of dress on the characters has the timeless look that this literary fairy tale demands. Backgrounds are generally sketchy, giving the characters center stage. The clever Jester, dressed in fool's motley, is still the only one of the King's advisors who has the sense to ask Princess Lenore just what she expects when she asks for the moon. The pompous Lord High Chamberlain, the skatty Wizard, and the absent-minded Mathematician are as helpless as ever, and the little princess with her common sense and gap-toothed smile is charming. This will delight a whole new generation of children. -- Cerny, R.  (2010). School Library Journal. Retrieved from Bowker Books in Print From Kirkus Reviews

The 1944 Caldecott winner is delightfully reillustrated by another Caldecott medalist. Slobodkin's facile impressionistic line is replaced by Simont's gentle caricatures--less elegant, perhaps, but a fine way to introduce this splendid, rather long story to new readers. Libraries will want to have both editions. Associates of Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Review Online. Retrieved from Bowker Books in Print.

Suggestions: This book would be great to use during lessons about the moon. Children could dream up what they thought the moon was made out of and turn it into an activity to share among others. All of the Caldecott winners could be placed in a special area for a few weeks for students to become familiar and enjoy.

Summary: Sylvester Duncan enjoys collection pebbles. One gloomy day he finds a unique pebble. As he examines it he wishes for the rain to stop. The rain suddenly stops and Sylvester can’t believe his eyes. He gets so excited that he starts wishing for different things. He could not wait to get back home to show his parents the magic pebble. Upon returning home he spot a lion. Out of the many things to wish for he wishes to become a rock. The lion examines the rock claiming to have seen a donkey, Sylvester. Sylvester was stuck as a rock since he could not pick up the magic pebble. His parents questions the neighbors, go tot the police, ask all of the children, but no one has seen Sylvester. They send out a search party in hopes to find him but no luck. A month goes by and they start to lose hope in finding Sylvester. They tried to think about happy memories and move on with their lives. One day, they go on a picnic and decide to place their food on a rock. Sylvester’s dad finds a unique rock and places it on the rock. The Duncan’s start to eat and Sylvester suddenly appears after noticing the pebble on his back. The family is overjoyed and places the rock in a safe. They had gotten everything they ever wished for.    

Citation: Steig, W. (1969). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.   

Impressions: I know that it is early in the modules but this has become one of my favorite stories. It is a true tale of be careful what you wish for. I like that the characters were drawn as animals instead of humans. It reminded me of Napoleon from animal farm when I saw that the pigs were the police. The search dogs were very fitting as well. The drawings were much more detailed and there was a lot more use of color. I noticed that as each module passes the books become more and more detailed story wise and illustration wise.   

Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly

Thanks to the rediscovery of the original watercolor artwork, in preparation for an exhibit of William Steig's work (see Children's Bookshelf, Oct. 27), newly restored edition of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, complete with Steig's acceptance speech for the Caldecott Medal, makes the book look better than ever. This tale of a donkey who wishes on a magic pebble has charmed a generation of readers and will no doubt go on to attract a new one. Associates of Publishers Weekly. (November 21, 2005). Reviews. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from Bowker Books in Print From the Publisher On a rainy day, Sylvester finds a magic pebble that can make wishes come true. But when a lion frightens him on his way home, Sylvester makes a wish that brings unexpected results. How Sylvester is eventually reunited with his loving family and restored to his true self makes a story that is beautifully tender and filled with true magic. Illustrated with William Steig's glowing pictures, this is a modern classic beloved by children everywhere. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a winner of the Caldecott Medal. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Suggestions: This book could be used in a wish lesson. Sylvester did not intentionally wish to be a rock but it was the first thing that came to his head. I want to know what students wish for. There could be a wishing rock or tree set up in the library so that all students can participate and read their peers wish.