''Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me'' is a children's picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle, published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 1986. It tells the story of a young girl, Monica, who wants to play with the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. 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 Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

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. The book's aim is to educate children about the

phases of the Moon Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...

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 A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such a ...

and, placing it atop a huge

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

, 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 full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...

. The book introduces children to the lunar phases, showing the Moon "shrinking" and "growing" in the sky every night. The story also tackles concepts of wish-fulfillment and imagination.

Legacy

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' described ''Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me'' as "a wondrous work of art that will stand up to countless readings". It was listed among the 100 greatest picture books by the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. 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. ''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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

). 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 The Illuminated Film Company is a British animation company founded in 1993 by Iain Harvey. It has produced the series '' Little Princess'' (2006-2022) and the ITV children's surreal comedy series ''The Rubbish World of Dave Spud'' (2019–pres ...

for Scholastic Productions, directed by Andrew Goff and produced by Ian Harvey. The classical music-influenced soundtrack was written by '' Wallace & Gromit'' composer

Julian Nott Julian Franklin Keith Nott (born 23 August 1960) is a British composer and conductor, mostly of animated films. He is known for his work on ''Wallace and Gromit'' and ''Peppa Pig''. Biography Nott was born in Marylebone, London, and was edu ...

References

External links

Book reviews
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''Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me''
at

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{{Eric Carle 1986 children's books American picture books Picture books by Eric Carle Simon & Schuster books