Bringing Down the Moon

by Jonathan Emmett, Vanessa Cabban (Illustrator)

"Hot-diggerty! Whatever's that?" exclaims Mole as he burrows out of the ground one night and catches sight of the moon. He thinks it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen and he wants it, so he sets about trying to pull it down - to no avail. When all of his efforts prove to be in vain, he suddenly notices the moon's in a puddle at his feet and reaches to pick it up...and breaks it. Poor Mole's inconsolable, until he is shown that the moon is not broken at all, but just as beautiful as ever, hanging in the sky like a bright silver coin. And it's not as near as it looks!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Jonathan Emmett was born in Leicestershire in 1965, the son of a factory fitter and a primary school teacher.

Jonathan loved books from an early age and some of his earliest memories are of visiting his local library. The picture books that he borrowed then, including Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson have had a great influence on the picture books that he now writes.

It was while Jonathan was at college, studying architecture, that he first started developing his own illustrated texts, illustrating poems and lyrics that he’d written. Pleased with the results, he found himself spending more and more time on writing and illustration. Although he qualified as an architect, he found the job unsatisfying and began pursuing a career in children's books in his spare time, eventually going full-time in 1995, a few months before his thirtieth birthday.

As well as writing picture books such as Bringing Down the Moon, Someone Bigger, Pigs Might Fly and Ruby Flew Too, Jonathan also writes and paper-engineers pop-up books. His books have won several awards including the Red House Children’s Book Award “Book for Younger Children” for Pigs Might Fly and the Kiekeboekprijs for Bringing Down the Moon.

He now lives in Nottingham with his wife, Rachel, and children, Max and Laura.

You can visit Jonathan’s website atjonathanemmett.com

Reviews

[Dream.M]

یه کتاب خیلی خفن داریم اینجا که به شدت پیشنهاد میکنم بخونید. خودمم همینکه یه بچه گیر بیارم براش میخونم🥹

داستان کتاب #کودک پایین کشیدن ماه، از چند جهت خیلی کتاب فوق العاده خوبیه .
اول اینکه: یک کتاب سلف هلپ با مفاهیم ساده است که به بچه ها یاد میده محدودیت های یک هدف رو در نظر بگیرن و همچنین محدودیت های شخصی خودشون رو بشناسن و بپذیرن ؛ و هدفی رو انتخاب کنن که با توانایی ها و منابع شون مطابقت داره . و به قول زهرا از اون کتاب ها نیست که الکی تاکید داره هدفت رو ول نکن.
این بنظرم بهترین ، قابل فهم ترین و قشنگترین پیام کتابه.
دوم اینکه: به بچه ها یاد میده چطور با ناکامی ها روبرو بشن و شکست رو بپذیرن بدون اینکه سرخورده و ناامید بشن.
سوم اینکه: اهمیت گروه دوستان و همدلی رو نشون میده، اهمیت مشورت کردن و استفاده از تجربیات دیگران رو هم خیلی خوب یادآوری کرده.
چهارم اینکه : کتاب آموزش های غیر مستقیم علمی هم داره، مثل اینکه ماه از زمین خیلی فاصله داره، موش کور بینایی کمی داره و نمیتونه از درخت بالا بره و همچنین درباره شکست نور چیزهایی یاد میده.
و پنجم اینکه: تصویرگری های کتاب خیلی خیلی قشنگه، نقاشی ها فضای شب رو خیلی جذاب و شاد نشون میدن و خوندن کتاب رو جذاب تر کردن.
خلاصه، اینو بخونید حتما.

[Zahra Naderi]

درد و بلای این کتاب بخوره توی سر همه‌ی کتابایی که فقط بلدن بگن «دونت گیو آپ»!

[Isabel]

Por vezes há coisas bonitas que nos seduzem e que gostaríamos de ter na nossa mão a todo o custo. No entanto, há muitas dessas coisas que nos são inacessíveis e a sua beleza deve-se ao facto de serem, exactamente, fisicamente inatingíveis. :)

[Martin Carberry]

‘Bringing Down The Moon’ is a picture book which tells the heart warming tale of a young mole who burrows out of the ground one night to be confronted with a bright, full, moon for the first time. Enchanted by its beauty, Mole decides that he must have it for himself. In his naivety he tries to bring down the moon from the night sky so that he may have it. The book takes us through the different attempts that Mole makes in bringing down the moon from the sky, from jumping up and down to grab it, to trying to knock it down with acorns. In attempting to capture the moon, Mole disturbs a number of his animal friends from their sleep who all advise him that his task will be fruitless, saying “it’s not as near as it looks!” This refrain which occurs several times throughout the book provides a reference point for children which eventually forms the final conclusion. Similarly, Mole’s attempts at capturing the moon are accompanied by noises spelt out such as “plinkety - plink” and “swishety – swish,” again, these are a recurring theme in the book which provide interest for children.
The book is largely based around Cabban’s illustrations which switch from large, landscape style illustrations to comic style strips when Mole is trying out a new technique unsuccessfully. Rather unusually for a picture book, the story is all set at night but nevertheless, the pictures are colourful, thanks to the bright moon and, action filled because of the nocturnal Mole.
The book deals with core themes of trying to achieve a goal and the process of doing so even if it is unattainable. It also deals with the relationships of friends and those around you and how we should use them to inform our decisions, when Mole finally listens to what everyone has been telling him, he is satisfied with the moon as it is rather than wanting it all for himself. In this way the story also touches on the issue of sharing for young children.
The author introduces first and third person narrative and writing techniques like onomatopoeia which make it a fun and varied book to be read out loud.

[shamim]

یه سری چیزارو نمیشه بدست اورد
یه سری چیزا از دور قشنگن
یه سری چیزا با نزدیک تر شدن بهشون خیلی چیزا ممکنه خراب بشه.
و من چقدر با این کتاب همذات پنداری کردم.

[Stacy Slater]

Mole had never seen anything so beautiful as the bright orb glowing in the sky. His attempts to capture it wake his woodland neighbors, who explain that the moon is not as near as it looks. Still, Mole perseveres, until at last he agrees that the moon is best admired from afar. A gentle story for preschool - grade 1 and an excellent companion piece to Kitten's first Full Moon by Kevin Henkes.

[S.]

3,5

[Dalinja Linnvstheworld]

Ik heb dit boekje voorgelezen aan mijn 9 weken oude zoontje. Hij zat gefascineerd meer te kijken en luisteren.
Een leuk boekje over een mol die de maan wilt pakken.

[Isa | Mil Histórias]

Opinião completa no blogue: http://jardimdemilhistorias.blogspot....

[Becky Snider]

This is my all time favorite children's book. I can not understand how some children's books (I'm looking at you, Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You) get to be so popular and others, like this one, go unnoticed.

When I found this book at a resale shop my son, about 3 at the time, insisted I read it on the train ride home. I read it for the first time then, and then he wanted to hear it again. Sometime during my second reading I looked up and noticed that commuters were listening, one woman sitting across from us was watching us and smiling warmly. This book is heartwarming, there is no better word for it, and even adults can appreciate the beauty of it.

The story is sweet and well constructed, the pictures are cute. It's a tragedy that this book is not on every child's bookshelf.

[Kinga (oazaksiazek)]

Mały krecik próbuje złapać księżyc i budzi przy tym pozostałych mieszkańców łąki. Inni pouczają go, że srebrny wielkolud widoczny na niebie, wcale nie znajduje się tak blisko niego.

Jak zakończy się ta historia?
Czego nauczy się kret podczas tej próby?
Jak na tę przygodę zareagują jego znajomi?

Całkiem niezła, pouczająca książka dla najmłodszych z ładnymi kolorowymi ilustracjami. Warto poświęcić jej chwilę.

[Exina]

Charming, sweet story, with lovely illustrations! Warmly recommended!

[Juliane]

Eine wunderschöne Geschichte für ganz kleine Kinder (ab 2 Jahre) über die Faszination des Mondes. Und dass der Mond nicht so nah ist wie es scheint.

[Harumichi Mizuki]

Oh My God!😳 😯 It's so cuuuuuuuteeee!!! 🥰 I definitely will seek for more mole series written by this author.

A mole who spent most of his life underground one day looked at the moon for the first time. He was amazed by the beauty of the moon. Thus he tried to bring it down! All of his friends, the rabbit, the hedgehog, and the squirrel, said that it was impossible to bring the moon down.

"It's farther than it looks!"

But the mole was still curious. So he brought a stick to poke the moon. Failed. He threw the moon with acorns. Failed. He then climbed the trees and tried to touch the moon by jumping on top of the tree!

Well, I guess you need to wait your children are big enough to understand that they can't copy the mole. It's so dangerous!

But don't you know? The moon indeed "fell down". How come? Read the book.

[Alyce Hunt]

The story is constructed well - a mole is desperate to get to the moon, but his animal friends all tell him it's not possible because it's much further away than it looks - but it kind of falls apart towards the end. Mole getting confused by the moon in the puddle is cute, but his sudden acceptance of the fact that he can't get to the moon is a bit anti-climactic and makes it feel as though something is missing from this story.

[Anthony]

When Mole see the moon at its fullest, he thinks it the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Mole is determined to pull it down for himself. Through his many attempts he is told by his friends, Rabbit, Hedgehog, and Squirrel that the moon is not as close as it looks, but Mole doesn't listen as he continues his quest to bring down the moon. A fun and warming story.

[Heydi Smith]

A fantastic book about the moon and how it is not as close as it looks. The story is so sweetly told with a young mole desperate to touch the moon. When he thinks he’s finally captured it the moon hides behind some clouds.

A great night, moon, determination or friendship storytime book.

[James Roberts]

Sweet bedtime story book. Simple but interesting story with a nice message at the end. The illustrations are wonderfully done. This isn't easy as the story takes place at night. But there's just enough moonlight to provide color and charm to the illustrations. Young readers will surely enjoy.

[Theresa]

Bringing down the.moon
By Jonathan Emmett

Found in a kindergarten classroom. Used to teach concepts of.perceotion, science qnd space. The logic of being able to touch the moon, makes s little mouse question how he can affect nature.

[Daisy]

so cute and pretty!
The mole is right about the moon being gorgeous, but he (and he's definitely a boy) is wrong about the whole 'steal the moon for himself' part!!

Conclusion - The moon is gorgeous, don't be selfish, and friends are great and cool!

[Esme🍂]

Bajar la luna del cielo es un libro bonito, tierno y muy adecuado para el público infantil. La historia es sencilla pero encantadora, con un mensaje dulce sobre el esfuerzo, la amistad y la imaginación. Me gustó porque transmite calidez y es ideal para leer con niños pequeños. Sin ser una lectura compleja, logra dejar una sensación agradable y mágica.

[Joel Hopkins]

Bringing down the moon is slightly blandly written but a good enough read that may be good as a bed time read.

[Elizabeth]

A little too long to use in Toddler Story Time but the artwork is precious and I'll find a program to use it in!

[Ty Deedigan]

Heartwarming read and great as a class reader.

[Susanne]

So ein wunderbares Buch, das leider nicht so bekannt ist. Die erste Auflage war allerdings um Welten besser! Die Sprache ist in der neuen Version gekünstelt und holprig zu lesen.

[Heather]

This is one if Sarah’s favorites from her childhood! I loved having Ross read it aloud to us!

[Barbara Barbosa]

História encantadora e ilustrações maravilhosas. Devia estar no Plano Nacional de Leitura.

[Sarah]

Charming especially the illustration of Mole half way up the tree.

[Sinem Gülen]

But it's not as close as it looks.

[Elise]

• 18 march 2023 •

Sweetly illustrated story about accepting and dissapointment. 🌚