Moon Plane

by Peter McCarty

Can airplanes fly to the moon? This one can! Above the clouds an airplane flies into the sky. On the ground a small boy looks up. A young boy sees a plane overhead and imagines himself in it, traveling all the way to the moon. What does he see on his way?  With characteristically spare prose, Caldecott Honor winner Peter McCarty invites readers along for an imaginary trip from the earth to the moon and back again, visiting trains, planes, and boats along the way. McCarty's luminous illustrations make the boy's fantasy into a dreamlike journey that ends in his mother's arms, a perfect way to end the day. Moon Plane is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Space, Transport, Storytime, Kids, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 2006

About the author

I was born in 1966 in Westport, Connecticut right in the middle of two older brothers and two younger sisters. We kept our mother busy while my father worked long hours at IBM. Most of my childhood was spent in my head. I was usually recreating a battle from World War II or running from dinosaurs in prehistoric times. To this day, I develop characters and environments based on worlds I first created when I was three. I am grateful to my mother who kept us surrounded with art. I come from a long line of artists and my grandmother, Grace Boyd, was the best. She died before I was born, but her fantastic paintings and drawings were all around us.

Since my father worked for IBM, we moved often. I think being on the move during my formative years has been the reason I tend to create books about returning home. By the time I graduated from high school we were living in Boulder, Colorado. At the University of Colorado, I began my long career as a professional student. I first thought I was going to be an engineer so I took all kinds of science and math classes. I enjoyed solving math problems, but I could not see myself working in a lab. Along the way, I continued to draw and create worlds as I always have. My friends and teachers were very supportive. Around the time when I should have been graduating, I decided to start over and go to art school at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I finally graduated from college, in 1992.

One of my illustration teachers, William Low introduced me to Laura Godwin, a children’s book editor at Henry Holt and Company. She gave me my first professional art job to illustrate a little science book, Frozen Man written by David Getz. I worked really hard on that book. Laura was impressed; so I was offered to illustrate a picture book, Night Driving written by John Coy. Again I did the best illustrations I knew how, like my life depended on it. One drawing of a car going over a bridge made my girlfriend cry. She said, “Oh, you can draw.” We were then married in 1995.

Night Driving was first published in 1996 and received praise from critics and won some awards. Laura Godwin then offered me the best of all offers; I could write and illustrate whatever I wanted. Little Bunny on the Move came into my mind after months of searching for a story. Little Bunny on the Move was published in 1999 and won a Best Illustrated Book of the Year from the New York Times. That book established my career and gave me the confidence to continue to write and illustrate the stories from my mind.

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is going to be any book that is going to be considered underrated for its beauty I have a feeling that out of the children section this book will be it. Lacking in the normal bright colors that catch the child's eye and a heavy plot that focuses on a lesson this one seems to be a beautiful salute to the imagination of a child where there are no restrictions to the thoughts and to the loving parent who waits at the end of each adventure for them to come back home.

Again the reading is really simple and plain so this makes a wonderful book for beginning readers. With its larger font and boldness there is no strain to the eye while the writing is only a few words per page. The opposite page is the illustration.

The illustration again is grayscale but the picture feels that it has been blown up for the book (maybe as a result of the size of the book and the closeness of the subject) so you are right there with the little boy.

So come take a trip where planes can lend wings and bright one to the moon if one so wishes.

[Patrick Resse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moon Plane, written and illustrated by Peter McCarty, is a story that teeters on the side of being fantasy and fiction. It tells of a boy imagining himself as flying a plane and all the wonderful places he would go. This book is better suited for kids in kindergarten and first grade since there is minimal text. This book does not have any awards, but is a great book to help get your imagination going. An unnamed boy sees a plane fly above him and wonders what it would be like to be in the plane and fly over trains, cars, and boats in the water. He then sees himself in the plane as it is flying in space and lands on the moon, allowing him to stand and jump around on the moon. He flies back home to his mother who is waiting for him and goes to bed dreaming of the plane.
This book is a good story for early readers, but does not a have too strong of a narrative playing throughout its pages. There is no clear lesson being conveyed, except possibly that there will always be a place at home. There is no hidden morals, but one thing the book does have going for it is the dream-like illustrations that fit in with the narrative. This book for the most part is just another children’s book that can be easily looked over and does not have any qualities that make it stand out from other books. It may get the kid’s imaginations going, but the dark overlook of the illustrations may also prevent the kids from reading the book in its entirety. Overall, you can probably just leave this book on the shelves and try the one sitting next to it.
A lesson to done with the kids is to have them write a story of some place that they would like to dream of going. A second lesson could be to have one cup labeled vowel teams and one named consonant teams and have them place beads into the cup when they read one or the other.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fly me to the moon...

It's sweet, simple, and gentle. It's definitely good for children who are into airplanes. It's an imaginative journey from a boy standing on the ground who sees an airplane flying overhead. He imagines that if he were in the airplane, he would fly it to the moon and then jump in the air and fly like the airplane and then he would fly home and his mother would be waiting for him. At the end he goes home and dreams of airplanes.

It's cute. It has a gentle, dreamlike quality to it. The pencil drawings have a lot of rounded and smooth edges with subtle shading and few corners. It's a very pretty book. It's got a simple story without being simplistic. It's minimalist, positive, and imaginative.

Message: Airplanes are awesome.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small boy sees a plane in the sky and imagines himself having fun flying all the way to the moon. But he’ll need to be home in time for his mother to tuck him into bed!

Join the adventurous boy who dares to fly his plane to the moon! The pencil-on-watercolor-paper illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the simple narrative that both parents and young readers are sure to find appealing.

Highly recommended.

[Connor Filipovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be an easy read for children that begin to have the ability to read. There are few words and they are all simple. The illustrations in this book are great; mostly due to the black and white color scheme. The scheme meshes very will with the scenario in the book because of the moon. All in all, it is a great way for children to be imaginative due to the illustrations and story line.

[Claudia Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter McCarty is a boy looking up to the sky and sees an airplane. He begins to wonder what it would be like to be in the plane at that moment. He imagines that he would see cars, trains, and boats. His imagination takes him to outer space, all the way to the moon where he gets off the plane and flies in his space suit. The he returns to earth, his mother would have go to bed and he would dream about the moon plane.

Great story about imagination and the places it could take us.

[Elizabeth Moreau Nicolai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the silver toned illustrations that just scream dream and imagination to me as the little boy imagines himself flying in the planes up to the moon. Simple text and the framed illustrations are just marvelous. Great for toddler or preschool storytime.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended for little ones. In simple text, a boy sees an airplane, fanasizes about riding it through the sky and then up to the moon. The art reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg, but with simpler compositions.

[Olivia Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preschool - Moon Storytime

[Aimee Fuhrman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic but stylish--a quiet read for bedtime that opens up a world of possibilities for wonderful dreaming! (Best for 2-4 years of age.)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 4 year old liked this fine; I found the concepts, text, and illustrations a bit dull but inoffensive.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boy imagines he is flying to the moon and all he sees on the journey. Preschool and up

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an imaginative story with pleasing pictures. My critique is that there is just not a lot about the story drawing you back into it again.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and imaginative. Definitely want to use this one in Storytime!

Storytime Ideas: Space, Travel, Planes, Imagination

[Emilie Ross]

wondering
where can an airplane go
exploration

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is very pretty but we found the story a bit lacking.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nah. The story was meh, the illustrations were blah.

[Heather McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about a lad's big sky dreams. Extra sweet at the end.

[Rebecca Boliard · Rating 5 out of 5]

*2007 Charlotte Zolotow Winner*
When I first picked this book up at my local library, I was not expecting much of a storyline flipping through the pages quickly, oh how I was wrong. Peter McCarty does a beautiful job of telling this story. This book is a simple read, it could easily be used in k-2 grade. The story begins with an airplane high in the sky. On the ground, is a boy. The boy then wonders what it would be like to be on that flight. This is when the boy's imagination soars. With one sentence per page this story is simple but extraordinary. The simplicity of the book is over looked when you see the detail in the simple pictures. The pictures are dark, but deep in detail and capture your attention. The vocabulary used throughout is perfect for the story. My favorite line from the story is when the boy says that he would jump and fly, just like the airplane. I love the celebration of imagination in children and I adore McCarty's attention to detail. I love this book and will be purchasing it for my classroom. I give Moon Plane five soaring planes out of five soaring planes.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pencil on watercolor paper illustrations in this picture book are quite memorable, evoking a sense of serenity at times and a sense of marvel at others. Certainly, they make it possible to feel as though the wheat in the fields is waving in the breeze and a young boy can bounce on the moon's surface. The colors are starkly beautiful until he returns home to his mother, and then soft blues and reds appear. The story itself is deceptively simple while describing an almost universal childhood wish. A boy sees an airplane flying above him, and then imagines what it might be like to fly overhead in that plane, passing over trains and familiar terrain and venturing into unfamiliar places such as the moon before returning home.

[Ruhama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple story of a young boy using his imagination to be able to fly. An airplane flies over the countryside, and suddenly, the boy is in the plane, heading toward the moon. By the end of the book, though, he's safely back home, with plenty of adventure under his belt. The illustrations are reminiscent of Hondo and Fabian--very soft and muted. Colors are sparse and there is no difference between the imagined world and the real world, but most children won't have a problem with that. Overall, it's a pleasant book and great for those with short attention spans. It could even lead to some imaginative play when the book is over.

A Charlotte Zolotow winner.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Moon Plane, written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Peter McCarty, tells the story of a little boy who dreams of traveling in a plane to the moon. The story begins with a little boy who sees a passing plane above him, and then follows his imagination as he dreams what it is like to fly in the plane. The story is simple yet powerful, but the real magic lies within the illustrations. The soft colors and shading creates a calm, dream like theme that makes the reader feel like they are in the mind of the little boy. The text does not overwhelm the page and the readers can really enjoy living the story through the illustrations rather than just reading along.

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

McCarty, Peter. Moon Plane. New York: Henry Holt, 2006. Print. Ages 4-6. Moon plane is a very simple and easy read, but yet a book with not a lot of color. This book tells of how it would be fun for a little boy to be on a plane and all of the adventures that he would go through and the adventures that he would want to encounter to make sure that he would get up to the moon. This book is an easy read, but it is hard to make sure that a book has a lot of color if the story doesn't match up. This book I could kind of relate to, because this book was easy in the sense that I have flown quite a bit so it was fun to see and read, because I have flown in planes before.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about a boy's imagination after he sees a plane flying in the sky, and imagines himself flying over cars, trains, and boats. Finally it leaves the earth and flies all the way to the moon where the boy gets off and flies across the moon in his space suit. He then gets back on the plane and returns to his house, mother and off to bed to dream about flying. I liked the softly grey and white illustrations (pencil on watercolor paper)that made everything look rounded and almost airbrushed. This is recommended for ages 3-6, and won the 2007 Charlotte Zolotow Award.

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moon Plane is a sweet book perfect for a young child. A little boy imagines flying to the moon in a plane. The illustrations are perfect for the text. My son really enjoyed this book. He often wonders what it would be like to fly to Mars. I enjoyed this book because the text was short and sweet( I had to read it four times in a row.) I'm sure we will read it AT LEAST four more times before returning it to the library.

[Robert Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After discovering Peter McCarty's work only recently, I have quickly become a fan of his books. He writes simply, appropriate for bedtime reading to sleepy children, and for young first time readers just learning. The pictures are all splendid, soft pencil with muted colors. The story is simple, a boy imagines himself flying aboard a plane all the way to the moon and back. A delightful book indeed.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library this week. My husband used to build space shuttles; now he builds airplanes, so my little boy is interested in both space and planes.

This is such a beautiful book. The story itself is good, if not spectacular, but this is such a beautiful book.

Actual rating: 3 stars for the text, 5 stars for the artwork -- have I mentioned how beautiful the artwork is?

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple story about a boy's dream to fly in an airplane - above the roads and houses, over the ocean, and all the way to the moon. The narrative is short and good for beginning readers and the illustrations are soft, sepia-tones that help impart the feeling of being in a dream world. Our girls liked this story and our oldest helped me read it aloud.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a young boy who daydreams about flying an airplane to the moon. It reminded me a bit of "Where the Wild Things Are" because in this story too, a little boy dreams of adventure and then longs for home and safety at the end. The illustrations have a misty, dream-like quality that fit perfectly. This book would be great for storytime.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte Zolotow Award (2007)

Fuzzy, mystical illustrations bring imagination and a quiet energy to the story of a boy who imagines himself flying a plane to the moon and back. This has a great potential for a bedtime book, as the subject matter is soft and slow. Could be good for a planets-themed story time.