The Moon's Revenge - Hardcover

Joan Aiken

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394893808 ISBN 13: 9780394893808

Publisher: Knopf, 1987

Synopsis

Seeking to become the best fiddler in the land, a boy angers the moon, who seeks revenge by making his sister mute, but when a monster threatens the land, it is only the boy's music that can subdue it and restore his sister's voice

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-5 An eerie tale about a young boy who wants to be a fiddler and what he must do to get his wish. Sep overhears voices say that he is to throw seven shoes at the moon. The moon, angry at having its face dirtied, exacts a price from Sep which includes going barefoot for seven years, a sister who is unable to speak, and, most dreadfully, an encounter with a gigantic dragon. Aiken deftly blends motifs of seven, of wishes and tasks, of the charm of music, and the powers of nature into a story which seems ancient and familiar. Lee perfectly captures this tone of dream-like realism in his paintings, which depict a medieval town on a rocky and storm-tossed coast. The quiet realism of these paintings is counterbalanced by two ghostly creatures who emerge from the sea, the ancient knight who seems to bring the violin, and a gloriously dingy and fetid dragon. Students might want to compare this to other realistic and painterly tellings of fantastic stories such as Zelinsky's Rum pelstiltskin (Dutton, 1986), Snyder's The Changing Maze (Macmillan, 1985), Sen dak's Outside Over There (Harper, 1981), and Trina Schart Hyman's paintings for Hodges' St. George and the Dragon (Little, 1984). The book would also provide another insight into the power of music when paired with Richard Kennedy's Oliver Hyde's Dishcloth Concert (Little, 1977; o.p.) and Brinton Turkle's The Fiddler of High Lone some (Dutton, 1985; o.p.). Barbara Chat ton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0394893808
• ISBN 13: 9780394893808
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Alan Lee