the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, 08 May 1999
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.

A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, 19 Apr 1997
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."

the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, 08 May 1999
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.

A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, 19 Apr 1997
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."

It All Depends on Your Point of View, 11 May 2004
This book deserves many more than five stars for being the best children's book I have seen in exploring the individuality of perception. James Thurber's marvelous wit is employed in a most Dr. Seuss-like way here to teach a lesson and create a laugh or two in the process.

Princess Lenore (who is 10, soon to be 11) becomes ill when she eats too many raspberry tarts. Gazing out her window, she sees the shining moon. The king, her father, asks what he can do to help her recover. She replies that if he gives her the moon, "I will be well again."

Being a doting father, he sets out to get the moon for her. He calls in each of his wise men, one by one, and they give him lots of reasons why she cannot have the moon. And they also waste lots of time bragging about all of the things they have gotten for the king in the past. In despair, the king doesn't know what to do. He complains to the Court Jester, who makes a most reasonable suggestion. In order to get the moon for the princess, "The thing to do is to find out how big Princess Leonore thinks it is, and how far away."

The answer to the question leads to a temporary solution.

But then, a new problem arises: How to explain when the moon arises the following night. The Princess again helps the Court Jester find the answer.

The story is developed in a most humorous and light hearted way. The satire will be easily understood by even the youngest child. The "wise" men really know nothing, and the "fool" is really wise. But Princess Lenore has the most sense of any of them.

The book is greatly enhanced by loose, free-flowing watercolors in beautiful pastel tones done by illustrator Louis Slobodkin. The book was awarded a Caldecott medal for the excellence of its illustrations, which I felt was well deserved.

This is an excellent book for parents to read to their children, and for parents and children to read aloud together.

After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child also consider where else views differ from person to person. How can those differences create harmful misunderstandings? How can those misunderstandings be avoided? In this way, you can help you child learn to listen, ask questions, think carefully, and communicate better. That will be one of the finest lessons you can give . . . after the lesson of exhibiting your unconditional love.

Look at things from the other side!

James Thurber's enchanting tale about wanting the moon, 11 May 2004
The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Many Moons" by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.

The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.

The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because everytime he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.

"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."

The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...

the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, 08 May 1999
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.

A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, 19 Apr 1997
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."

It All Depends on Your Point of View, 11 May 2004
This book deserves many more than five stars for being the best children's book I have seen in exploring the individuality of perception. James Thurber's marvelous wit is employed in a most Dr. Seuss-like way here to teach a lesson and create a laugh or two in the process.

Princess Lenore (who is 10, soon to be 11) becomes ill when she eats too many raspberry tarts. Gazing out her window, she sees the shining moon. The king, her father, asks what he can do to help her recover. She replies that if he gives her the moon, "I will be well again."

Being a doting father, he sets out to get the moon for her. He calls in each of his wise men, one by one, and they give him lots of reasons why she cannot have the moon. And they also waste lots of time bragging about all of the things they have gotten for the king in the past. In despair, the king doesn't know what to do. He complains to the Court Jester, who makes a most reasonable suggestion. In order to get the moon for the princess, "The thing to do is to find out how big Princess Leonore thinks it is, and how far away."

The answer to the question leads to a temporary solution.

But then, a new problem arises: How to explain when the moon arises the following night. The Princess again helps the Court Jester find the answer.

The story is developed in a most humorous and light hearted way. The satire will be easily understood by even the youngest child. The "wise" men really know nothing, and the "fool" is really wise. But Princess Lenore has the most sense of any of them.

The book is greatly enhanced by loose, free-flowing watercolors in beautiful pastel tones done by illustrator Louis Slobodkin. The book was awarded a Caldecott medal for the excellence of its illustrations, which I felt was well deserved.

This is an excellent book for parents to read to their children, and for parents and children to read aloud together.

After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child also consider where else views differ from person to person. How can those differences create harmful misunderstandings? How can those misunderstandings be avoided? In this way, you can help you child learn to listen, ask questions, think carefully, and communicate better. That will be one of the finest lessons you can give . . . after the lesson of exhibiting your unconditional love.

Look at things from the other side!

James Thurber's enchanting tale about wanting the moon, 11 May 2004
The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Many Moons" by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.

The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.

The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because everytime he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.

"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."

The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...

Wonderful wonderful O, 20 Dec 2006
I'm surprised this book is not better known. I read it when I was twelve, and thought it one of the cleverest and funniest I had read - laugh out loud stuff. It works for adults too - like the best children's writing, so not boring to read at bed-time. I had the edition with the illustrations by Ronald Searle. Would recommend it to any child who reads - 9 - 15. The version I had (Puffin I think) also had the "Thirteen Clocks" which is equally good. Thurber wrote brilliantly for children. He was one of the delights of my childhood. Also - for encouraging 'real book' reading, the language is quite simple, and they are not too long. Every school library should have it.

the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, 08 May 1999
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.

A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, 19 Apr 1997
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."

It All Depends on Your Point of View, 11 May 2004
This book deserves many more than five stars for being the best children's book I have seen in exploring the individuality of perception. James Thurber's marvelous wit is employed in a most Dr. Seuss-like way here to teach a lesson and create a laugh or two in the process.

Princess Lenore (who is 10, soon to be 11) becomes ill when she eats too many raspberry tarts. Gazing out her window, she sees the shining moon. The king, her father, asks what he can do to help her recover. She replies that if he gives her the moon, "I will be well again."

Being a doting father, he sets out to get the moon for her. He calls in each of his wise men, one by one, and they give him lots of reasons why she cannot have the moon. And they also waste lots of time bragging about all of the things they have gotten for the king in the past. In despair, the king doesn't know what to do. He complains to the Court Jester, who makes a most reasonable suggestion. In order to get the moon for the princess, "The thing to do is to find out how big Princess Leonore thinks it is, and how far away."

The answer to the question leads to a temporary solution.

But then, a new problem arises: How to explain when the moon arises the following night. The Princess again helps the Court Jester find the answer.

The story is developed in a most humorous and light hearted way. The satire will be easily understood by even the youngest child. The "wise" men really know nothing, and the "fool" is really wise. But Princess Lenore has the most sense of any of them.

The book is greatly enhanced by loose, free-flowing watercolors in beautiful pastel tones done by illustrator Louis Slobodkin. The book was awarded a Caldecott medal for the excellence of its illustrations, which I felt was well deserved.

This is an excellent book for parents to read to their children, and for parents and children to read aloud together.

After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child also consider where else views differ from person to person. How can those differences create harmful misunderstandings? How can those misunderstandings be avoided? In this way, you can help you child learn to listen, ask questions, think carefully, and communicate better. That will be one of the finest lessons you can give . . . after the lesson of exhibiting your unconditional love.

Look at things from the other side!

James Thurber's enchanting tale about wanting the moon, 11 May 2004
The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Many Moons" by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.

The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.

The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because everytime he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.

"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."

The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...

Wonderful wonderful O, 20 Dec 2006
I'm surprised this book is not better known. I read it when I was twelve, and thought it one of the cleverest and funniest I had read - laugh out loud stuff. It works for adults too - like the best children's writing, so not boring to read at bed-time. I had the edition with the illustrations by Ronald Searle. Would recommend it to any child who reads - 9 - 15. The version I had (Puffin I think) also had the "Thirteen Clocks" which is equally good. Thurber wrote brilliantly for children. He was one of the delights of my childhood. Also - for encouraging 'real book' reading, the language is quite simple, and they are not too long. Every school library should have it.

Has Its Moments, 12 Feb 1999
It's obvious Thurber lavished a lot of attention on this fantasy about a mythical king with a mythical name and a myth-like story. The craftsmanship in the writing is unusually good, poetry and all. It's ultimately the content that is the major problem -- a long story with lots of parallel events, the way a real Brothers Grimm story might proceed. Doesn't seem to have much of an ending. The character of the king is striking, if you want your king to look like Brian Blessed in the first Black Adder on TV. Nice touch giving the king his editor's expression at the New Yorker: "Done AND done." But I have to admit, I was glad when it was.

the adult fairy tale, 12 Aug 2002
James Thurber is a master of words, that is a fact. But in this tale he becomes an enchanting story teller. it is a fairy tale about an evil duke, a beatiful princess and a daring knight who is in love with her. Yes, the story line is common. What is exceptional is the way this story unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, with humor and sarcasm with delicacy and an amazing child like view of the word. Thurber plays beautifully with words, logic and magic.
No matter how old you are, you will be enchanted

One of the best books I have ever read,, 24 Aug 1998
the plot is, well, it's a good plot. However, it's not the plot that reaches out and grabs you in. It's the characters (especially the golux and his unique way of looking at the world) but more it's the words that are almost poetry and are written in a way that makes you wonder what worlds could be around you if you just opened up your eyes.

One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, 08 May 1999
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.

A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, 19 Apr 1997
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."

It All Depends on Your Point of View, 11 May 2004
This book deserves many more than five stars for being the best children's book I have seen in exploring the individuality of perception. James Thurber's marvelous wit is employed in a most Dr. Seuss-like way here to teach a lesson and create a laugh or two in the process.

Princess Lenore (who is 10, soon to be 11) becomes ill when she eats too many raspberry tarts. Gazing out her window, she sees the shining moon. The king, her father, asks what he can do to help her recover. She replies that if he gives her the moon, "I will be well again."

Being a doting father, he sets out to get the moon for her. He calls in each of his wise men, one by one, and they give him lots of reasons why she cannot have the moon. And they also waste lots of time bragging about all of the things they have gotten for the king in the past. In despair, the king doesn't know what to do. He complains to the Court Jester, who makes a most reasonable suggestion. In order to get the moon for the princess, "The thing to do is to find out how big Princess Leonore thinks it is, and how far away."

The answer to the question leads to a temporary solution.

But then, a new problem arises: How to explain when the moon arises the following night. The Princess again helps the Court Jester find the answer.

The story is developed in a most humorous and light hearted way. The satire will be easily understood by even the youngest child. The "wise" men really know nothing, and the "fool" is really wise. But Princess Lenore has the most sense of any of them.

The book is greatly enhanced by loose, free-flowing watercolors in beautiful pastel tones done by illustrator Louis Slobodkin. The book was awarded a Caldecott medal for the excellence of its illustrations, which I felt was well deserved.

This is an excellent book for parents to read to their children, and for parents and children to read aloud together.

After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child also consider where else views differ from person to person. How can those differences create harmful misunderstandings? How can those misunderstandings be avoided? In this way, you can help you child learn to listen, ask questions, think carefully, and communicate better. That will be one of the finest lessons you can give . . . after the lesson of exhibiting your unconditional love.

Look at things from the other side!

James Thurber's enchanting tale about wanting the moon, 11 May 2004
The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Many Moons" by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.

The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.

The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because everytime he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.

"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."

The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...

Wonderful wonderful O, 20 Dec 2006
I'm surprised this book is not better known. I read it when I was twelve, and thought it one of the cleverest and funniest I had read - laugh out loud stuff. It works for adults too - like the best children's writing, so not boring to read at bed-time. I had the edition with the illustrations by Ronald Searle. Would recommend it to any child who reads - 9 - 15. The version I had (Puffin I think) also had the "Thirteen Clocks" which is equally good. Thurber wrote brilliantly for children. He was one of the delights of my childhood. Also - for encouraging 'real book' reading, the language is quite simple, and they are not too long. Every school library should have it.

Has Its Moments, 12 Feb 1999
It's obvious Thurber lavished a lot of attention on this fantasy about a mythical king with a mythical name and a myth-like story. The craftsmanship in the writing is unusually good, poetry and all. It's ultimately the content that is the major problem -- a long story with lots of parallel events, the way a real Brothers Grimm story might proceed. Doesn't seem to have much of an ending. The character of the king is striking, if you want your king to look like Brian Blessed in the first Black Adder on TV. Nice touch giving the king his editor's expression at the New Yorker: "Done AND done." But I have to admit, I was glad when it was.

The simple and powerful anti-war parable of James Thurber, 21 Mar 2004
I came to James Thurber's classic "The Last Flower: A Parable in Pictures" by a path that I suspect others have followed as well. The first time I "saw" Thurber's story was when it was animated as part of the climax of Jack Lemmon's 1972 film "The War Between Men and Women." When I saw it I was struck by the similarities to the protest song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", which offers a similar cycle, but you have to keep in mind that Thurber's work dates from 1939, the year that World War II started, and the song was written around 1956 by Pete Seeger and later expanded by Joe Hickerson. I had always assumed that there had to be some sort of connection between the story and the song, but Seeger was actually inspired by some lines in the novel "And Quiet Flows the Don" by Mikhail Sholokhov that came from a Ukranian folksong. However, even this dead end connection evidences the universality of Thurber's story which is one of the most powerful anti-war statements ever created, made all the more powerful because of its eloquent simplicity.

Thurber wrote and drew "The Last Flower" on his favorite yellow paper at the Algonquin Hotel and it is considered the favorite of his twenty-six books by both the writer and his wife Helen. The book was an immediate success with Albert Camus translating it into French and its message seems even more relevant given the events that have happened since the end of World War II. James Thurber was a writer who offered wistful and ironic insights into the human condition and while he might be better known today for "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" but if we are putting things on an interplanetary probe to represent human accomplishments and for some reason we are only restricted to one work by Thurber or only one anti-war message (in addition to Picasso's "Guernica" painting), then it would have to be "The Last Flower." To quote E.B. White, who gets the final word on this one because I could never hope to improve upon it: "Of all the flowers, real and figurative...the one that will remain fresh and wilt-proof is the little flower...on the last page of that lovely book."