Moon Man
‘The bright, galloping illustrations are as effective as any Tomi Ungerer has done. This has some of the sting of Dr Strangelove – but tenderized, the contemporary charisma of Where the Wild Things Are: it’s great! Exceptionally highly recommended’ – Kirkus Reviews
In this beautifully illustrated and delightfully quirky tale by one of the world's best-loved and acclaimed storytellers, the Man in the Moon looks down on the happy, dancing people on Earth every night, wishing he could join them. He hitches a ride on a passing comet and crash-lands on Earth, where he quickly finds himself thrown into jail by people who take him for an invader, rather than a friendly visitor. The Moon Man, however, has a most unusual – but perfectly logical – means of escape, and sets out to make his way back home.
With gentle satire, Ungerer pokes fun at self-important adults who are afraid of anything or anyone unfamiliar and reminds us that there is indeed no place like home. On its first publication in the US in 1967, at the height of the Space Race, Moon Man won the Book Week prize for books for children aged 4–8, and Maurice Sendak described it in Book Week as 'Easily one of the best picture books in recent years' Since then, it has been translated into 12 languages.
Ages 4-8
Tomi Ungerer (1931-2019) is a legend in the world of children’s books. Born in Strasbourg in 1931, Tomi landed in New York in 1956 with $60 in his pocket and with a suitcase full of drawings. Overnight he became a star as a caricaturist, illustrator, and children’s book author. He published more than 140 books for children and for adults in his prolific life. Tomi is a winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest achievable international award for children’s literature, and was named Ambassador for Childhood and Education by the Council of Europe in 2003. The Musée Tomi Ungerer, a museum devoted exclusively to his work, opened in 2007 in Strasbourg, France. Tomi passed away in 2019 but up until his death he continued to create new art every day, and write stories in three languages – English, French, and German!