The Moon Was at a Fiesta

by Matthew Gollub

The sun lights the day and the moon lights the night, and morning seldom breaks to find them both up in the sky. But when the moon does stay up past dawn, the people of Oaxaca, Mexico, have an “The moon was at a fiesta.” Once again, Matthew Gollub and Leovigildo Martínez have created a sumptuous original tale set amid the rich folk culture of Mr. Martínez’s own Oaxaca—a tale as exhilarating as a moonlit fiesta full of music, tamales, and paper lanterns.

California Department of Education Suggested Reading Title
Artwork honored by the Society of Illustrators in New York
Paintings and text displayed in Art Institute of Chicago and over 40 museums nationwide

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Kathryn]

Gollub recently visited my six-year-old's school, reading stories aloud, playing music, discussing different languages, and trying to impart some cultural awareness, something which I sadly find lacking in our corner of the world. Gollub read this book first, a slightly different experience than reading the book yourself at home, as he went into greater detail involving the foods the Moon ate. Each child was completely focused on the author and his presentation.

Leovigildo Martinez illustrates this book, as he did with Uncle Snake, and I liked these pictures just as much. There was a bit more color used here yet the illustrations suceeded in sucking the reader into the story very well.

[Danielle Mootz]

The moon was trying to party way too hard in this fun book that offered us some new Spanish words to learn.

[Tom]

K- 3rd
The illustrations by Mexican artist Leovigildo Martinez stand out though his use of color and cartoon like depictions of this traditional Mexican folktale about the Moon being jealous of the Sun’s interaction with people during daylight. Every page has beautiful images of the inhabitants of a rural Mexican community that will entice the reader to re-examine what they see on every page. The author tells this fantasy with humor and that there is a lesson to be learned about not having too much fun at night.
Social Studies/ Spanish
This will be a good learning tool when teaching about different cultures and traditions. The story uses traditional Spanish words within the English text to describe the characters in the story.

[Jamie]

This fable is about the moon wanting to have fiestas with people like the sun. She learns why she cannot and how it is not good for people to stay up all night. There is great information in the back and this would be a great moral lesson for students.

[Victoria Clay]

This book explains why there is an Oaxacan phrase, "The Moon was at a Fiesta." It is a great book to explore different genres of writing, different countries, and different cultures. It could be used in a social studies unit on pre-Hispanic cultures.