Moondance

Moonbear #8

by Frank Asch

Bear has a wish. He wants to dance with moon. But the moon is so special. Will she want to dance with Bear? This is a child's book.

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

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Frank Asch is an American children's writer, best known for his Moonbear picture books.

Asch published his first picture book, George's Store, in 1968. The following year he graduated from Cooper Union with a BFA. Since then he has taught at a public school in India, as well as at a Montessori school in the United States, conducted numerous creative workshops for children. He has written over 60 books, including Turtle Tale, Mooncake, I Can Blink and Happy Birthday Moon. In 1989 he wrote Here Comes the Cat! in collaboration with Vladimir Vagin. The book was awarded the Russian National Book Award and was considered the first Russian-American collaboration on a children's book.

Asch lived in Somerville, New Jersey where he and his wife home-schooled their son Devin.

He currently lives in Vermont with his wife, Jan.

Reviews

[Ghazaal B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just too sweet. :)

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently rediscovered Asch's books at a library sale and instantly remembered how obsessed I was with his Sand Cake book after seeing it on (I think) Reading Rainbow when I was little.

The story of "Moondance" is sweet, and the illustrations are, once again, totally captivating! Bear wants to dance with the Moon, but thinks she is too special to dance with him. But what about the clouds? Or the rain? And could it ever be possible for the moon to find a way to dance with Bear?

Bear has a very sweet spirit, and Little Bird is a helpful and supportive friend. I love the various ways Bear gets to dance with the various partners -- quite clever!

The ending seemed somewhat lacking to me, but overall still a sweet book.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been one of those interesting reads from my childhood and while I may not remember exactly as to how the full story goes when coming upon it in a list I am reminded of its relation to my earlier reading years. And although I just came upon the realization that this is book is a part of a series it is more definitely one of those in which you don't have to read it in order that the books are given since there aren't that many relations to each book besides the main character, his friend the bird and the moon.

The writing is simple and easy to follow so this is a great book for adults to read to children just before they go to sleep or even for them to read during the day when you want silent time. Most children in elementary school won't need help with pronunciation but it is still a good idea to have someone around to help just in case.

And what I most definitely like about this book is that it teaches children that not all desires are meant to be answered right away but can take time and that sometimes you have to be just as creative in your responses to what you are given. These are definitely some good concepts to share with children although some of the very youngest may not be able to embrace these ideas with the first or second reading.

Just as with the other books in this series the pictures have a slightly darker palette to coordinate with the night but since also the events happen during the day it is also one of the lighter within the series. Meanwhile the bear is adorable as he is in every other book and I still cannot figure out why the bird has a hat on his head at all but then again those are small details.

All in all this is a great book to read and one to take the mind off of the worldly just by adding the magic of nature.

[Maureen Agnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about self-confidence. About how anxiety-ridden it can be to not know what other people think of you, and how fast we are to judge ourselves with no real proof. '"She's so special and I'm just an ordinary bear," he thought.' It reminded me of the powerful message from the movie "10 Inch Hero." A powerful message for adults and children.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute, sweet book about a little bear who wants to dance with the moon.

It's an older book that is part of a series of books.

I wonder if I didn't read it ages ago because it seemed familiar.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story was not that great and neither were the illustrations. My four year old also did't really get into it.

[Christine Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear wants to dance with the moon but thinks that he isn't special enough. He starts by dancing with the clouds. Next, he dances with the rain. Will the moon ever dance with him?

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this installment of the Moonbear series, Moonbear wants to dance with the moon, but the moon won't join him. However, a rainfall changes that. A delightful story with a surprising outcome.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have found memories of Frank Asch's book Popcorn, which I read all the time at my doctor's office as a child. So, when I saw the familiar looking bear, I took this one out to read to Natalie, since we need more story books, rather than board books. The story was alright. It follows the bear as he tries to dance with various things. Each time he interprets a natural change as the things agreeing to dance with him. In the end, I did like how all the pieces came together for bear to dance in the moon's reflection in the puddle from the rain. It made the rest of the story have more purpose.

[Renate]

In this book, part of a series on books on this bear, the bear wants to dance with the moon. His friend, Little Bird, tells Bear that he could try dancing with the clouds first. When he wakes up to fog, he happily dances with the fog/clouds. Then he dances with rain and finally, the moon's reflection in a puddle. Children will relate to the simple drawings and the simple pleasure Bear takes in his dancing with the clouds.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear wants to dance with moon, clouds, and rain. At first, he's sad because when he asks them to come down they remain in the sky. But later, when it's foggy, and rainy, and the moon reflects in a puddle, he finds he IS able to dance with them. Children will enjoy pointing out the errors in bear's thinking. Good for preschool.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very simple story of a bear that want to dance with the moon, stars, fog, & rain.... I found this to be rather uninspiring and flat. The illustrations were equally as uninspiring and flat. I did not use this for my group.

[Ginger Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Frank Asch's bear books. Very cute and simple stories. I recommend these for your kids.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bear wants to dance with moon but doesn't feel like he's special enough for that privilege.