''Many Moons'' is a children's

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

written by

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...

and illustrated by

Louis Slobodkin Louis Slobodkin (February 19, 1903 – May 8, 1975) was an American sculptor, writer, and illustrator of numerous children's books. Life Slobodkin was born on February 19, 1903, in Albany, New York. He attended the Beaux-Arts Institute of De ...

. It was published by

Harcourt, Brace & Company Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...

in 1943 and won the

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

in 1944.American Library Association
Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 - Present
URL accessed 27 May 2009. Princess Lenore becomes ill, and only one thing will make her better: the moon. Despite winning the Caldecott Medal with Slobodkin's original illustrations, a reprint in 1990 by Harcourt featured the text accompanied by new illustrations by

Marc Simont Marc Simont (November 23, 1915 – July 13, 2013) was a Paris-born American artist, political cartoonist, and illustrator of more than a hundred children's books. Inspired by his father, Spanish painter Joseph Simont, he began drawing at an early ...

Plot

Princess Lenore suffers from "a surfeit of raspberry tarts" — eating too many sweets. She insists she is gravely ill, but if her father brings her the moon she'll be well again. Her father, the king, asks the wisest men in his court how he can give his daughter the moon, and becomes outraged when they all claim that it is too large, too far away, and composed of unstable or dangerous substances. Despairing, the king confides in his court jester. The jester then asks the princess what ''she'' thinks the moon is made of, how big it is, and how far away. According to the princess, the moon is as big as her thumbnail and made of gold. She says it's so close that he could climb a tree and pluck it from the sky. He promises to do just that, that very night. Instead, the jester takes the princess's specifications to the royal goldsmith, who creates a necklace with a moon-like pendant. It is presented to the princess and she becomes well again. The next day, the King fears she'll see the moon in the sky and realize that the necklace is a forgery. He consults the wisest men in his court, who propose outrageous schemes to prevent her from seeing it in the sky. Ultimately, the jester visits the princess, who is fondly gazing at the newly-risen moon. He asks her how the moon can be in two places, and she tells him the moon always grows back: like a child's tooth, a unicorn's horn, or flowers.

Adaptations

It was made into an opera by American composer, Celius Dougherty. It was also made into a play, adapted by

Charlotte Chorpenning Charlotte Barrows Chorpenning (1873 – January 7, 1955) was an American children's playwright. When she was 60 years old, after her husband died, she began writing plays for children. She was also the artistic director of the children's theatre at ...

. In 1966, an animated adaptation was produced by

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

as part of the animated film ''

Alice of Wonderland in Paris ''Alice of Wonderland in Paris'' or ''Alice in a New Wonderland'' is a 1966 Czech-American animated film directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in extreme limited animation. Plot Young Alice, having become a celebrity for he ...

''. In 1972 an audio version was released by

Caedmon Records Caedmon Audio and HarperCollins Audio are record label imprints of HarperCollins Publishers that specialize in audiobooks and other literary content. Formerly Caedmon Records, its marketing tag-line was Caedmon: a Third Dimension for the Printe ...

, read by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

with music by

Edgar Summerlin Edgar Eugene Summerlin (September 1, 1928 – October 10, 2006) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator known for pioneering Liturgical jazz, avant-garde jazz, and free jazz. Professional career While a graduate student at the ...

References

1943 children's books Children's fiction books American picture books Works by James Thurber Books illustrated by Marc Simont Caldecott Medal–winning works 1943 fantasy novels {{child-picture-book-stub