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Moon Man

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 87 ratings · 11 reviews

"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, 1967 In this gently satiric fable, Ungerer pokes fun at self-important adults who are afraid of anything or any...more "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, 1967 In this gently satiric fable, 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 bet picture books in recent years' Since then, it has been translated into 12 languages. Moon Man will be the next classic Ungerer tale to be turned into a full-length feature film, following on from the success of the award-winning The Three Robbers, which was shown in French and German cinemas in 2007 and is due to be launched on DVD in the English-speaking world in Fall 2008. Bored and lonely in his shimmering home in space, the Moon Man watches the people on Earth dancing and having a good time. Just once, he thinks, he would like to join in the fun. So one night, he holds on to a passing comet and crash lands on Earth. But the unexpected arrival of this mysterious visitor causes statesmen, scientists and generals to panic, and the Moon Man is thrown into jail. brbrAlone in his cell, the Moon Man uses his special powers to slip through the hands of the law; it turns out that in accordance with the lunar phases, the Moon Man waxes and wanes. His left side starts to disappear the Moon Man is his third quarter and as the moon grows thinner and thinner, so does the Moon Man. Finally, he is able to squeeze through the bars of his window and escape. Two weeks later, and once again fully formed, he enjoys his new-found freedom on Earth, and dances happily for hours at a party where all the other guests are wearing elaborate costumes and simply think he has dressed up as the Man in the Moon. But the police are on his trail, and a wild chase ensues. brbrFleeing through a forest, Moon Man finds a remote castle, where he is welcomed by an ancient, long-forgotten scientist named Doktor Bunsen van der Dunkel, who has been working on a space ship for centuries, with the aim of flying to the moon. Now too old and fat to fit into the completed rocket himself, Doktor van der Dunkel asks Moon Man to be the first passenger. Knowing that he would never be able to live on Earth in peace, Moon Man returns home to his planet, happy to stay there forever now that his curiosity has been sated. Back on Earth, Doktor van der Dunkel finally gets the recognition he deserves for his scientific breakthrough.(less)

Paperback, 40 pages

Published May 1st 1998 by Roberts Rinehart Publishers (first published 1966)

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Sep 03, 2011 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everybody

Shelves: want-to-add-to-perm-collection

I forgot about this until I was browsing Juv. Poetry at the library and saw A Galaxy of Verse by Louis Untermeyer. How embarrassing - this is one of my all-time favorite books, both for theme and for illustrations. I've read to myself and to children many times, and need to again.

ETA - just re-read it, and it is indeed as magical and interesting as I remembered. Probably the first science-fiction I read - and yes, I do claim it counts as authentic, and good, sf.

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 10, 2011 Atziri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-readers-genre, picture-books-genre

This past June 2011, Tomi Ungerer, the author of Moon Man and Crictor (another book I just recently reviewed), was interviewed at the Free Library of Philadelphia. The title of the interview was Tomi Ungerer Subversive Genius: The 80th Birthday Interview. I thought the title "subversive genius" was perfect, especially as it relates to the story of "Moon Man". In this gently satiric fable, Ungerer pokes fun at adults afraid of unfamiliar things. Moon Man watches the people on Earth and feels lone...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's always interesting to read picture books originally pubished in a language besides English. Moon Man was originally published in German in 1966. Funky Germanic 60s illustrations add to the foreign feeling of this book. Moon Man looks down on earth every night, and is envious of the earth people merrily dancing the night away. He falls victim to the easy trap of feeling the grass to be greener on the other side.

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Nov 03, 2009 Dolly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: parents reading with their children

Shelves: 2009, childrens, science, scifi-fantasy, france-french

I saw this book at the library and I knew I had to read it to our girls. I remember reading it as a child and I always thought it had a haunting theme to it... a longing for a vibrant life full of dancing and laughter. I really enjoy sharing some of the books from my childhood with our girls.

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May 21, 2012 Terri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: child-lit, cpl

When you read as many children's books as we do in our house, you appreciate a book as unique as Tomi Ungerer's Moon Man. It's colorful illustrations (and lots of black--this is night time after all) are refreshing. I would be interested in reading more of Ungerer's books.

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Aug 13, 2010 Robert Marsh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Definitely grab this top-notch new hardback edition from Phaidon. They're releasing Tomi Ungerer's catalog and doing a superb job. Nice!

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Sep 28, 2012 Monika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens

As for such a famous children author this story wasn't mind blowing. Although, it's pleasant to read with nice illustrations.

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Jul 18, 2011 Mandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-kids

cute story about the Moon Man that teaches kids about the phases of the moon.

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Dec 16, 2012 Claire Saim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Un petit chef d'oeuvre !

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Feb 19, 2012 Bridget added it

Shelves: children-audio-version, children-space

Have the audio version

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Nov 02, 2008 Edwin Vazquez rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the first books I remember and read as a child.

I'm happy to see its re-release after so many years out of print.

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May 15, 2013 Kathryn Troeschel added it

Shelves: kids-books

May 10, 2013 Vida Rajkovaca rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 09, 2013 Lisa Houlihan added it

Shelves: picture, male

May 15, 2013 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: moon, fiction, checked-out, checked-out-2013, checked-out-2013-4, xenophobia, man-in-the-moon, visitors, space

Apr 13, 2013 · — — — marked it as to-read

Apr 07, 2013 Markoxwell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 06, 2013 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children

Mar 30, 2013 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picturebooks

Mar 30, 2013 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mar 20, 2013 Natalia added it

Shelves: lit-infantil-y-juvenil

Mar 13, 2013 Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mar 05, 2013 Ombeline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: albums

Feb 22, 2013 Jamus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Feb 22, 2013 Aubrey E. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 17, 2013 Ed rated it 2 of 5 stars

Feb 08, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-picture-books

Feb 05, 2013 Emma marked it as to-read

Shelves: children-s-books

Jan 31, 2013 Maëva rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jan 15, 2013 Spats rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens

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About Tomi Ungerer

Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer is a French illustrator best known for his erotic and political illustrations as well as children's books.

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