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The Moon Singer
Long ago, in a far country, there lived a miller and his wife. One day a woman came to the mill, leading a child by the hand. "Take this boy," she said, "I can no longer care for him."
44 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1969
1 person is currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Clyde Robert Bulla
104 books99 followersBorn to be a Writer
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 28, 2022
This is a magical book. A shy young boy is adopted by a miller and his wife. He would go out into the woods and stand for hours, eventually he would sing, if the moon was out. He had a gift that was inspired by the light of the moon and couldn't sing without it.
If I had discovered this book as a child I'm sure I would've failed to return it to the library and would've worn it out with repeated reading. I was not gentle on books. However, I only just discovered it, probably through @Cheryl, but I added it to my Amazon basket so long ago, and then waited until I was back home from summer vacation, and THEN it took forever for it to arrive that I am no longer sure. Never mind, I have now read it and will treasure it.
If I had discovered this book as a child I'm sure I would've failed to return it to the library and would've worn it out with repeated reading. I was not gentle on books. However, I only just discovered it, probably through @Cheryl, but I added it to my Amazon basket so long ago, and then waited until I was back home from summer vacation, and THEN it took forever for it to arrive that I am no longer sure. Never mind, I have now read it and will treasure it.
July 21, 2022
I would have read this dozens of times when I was a child. The idea of being creatively talented was magical to me of itself, and yet Bulla and Hyman made me emphasize with the plight of the boy as if I had something in common with him.
But it's time to pass on this little treasure to, in lieu of grandchildren, a certain young family.
But it's time to pass on this little treasure to, in lieu of grandchildren, a certain young family.
October 26, 2022
An orphan boy loves to sing and goes out at night to sing to the moon undisturbed. Slowly the villagers learn of his doings and Lord Crail does too. He takes the boy to sing for the Queen, but alas, only a croak comes out.
Torr is sent away in disgrace. Why couldn’t he sing? And will he sing again?
A book about shyness.
I would have liked it better if the boy had been encouraged and helped to overcome such a shy condition and to see how enjoyable it is to share a lovely gift with others.
Ages: 4 - 10
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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Torr is sent away in disgrace. Why couldn’t he sing? And will he sing again?
A book about shyness.
I would have liked it better if the boy had been encouraged and helped to overcome such a shy condition and to see how enjoyable it is to share a lovely gift with others.
Ages: 4 - 10
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
March 24, 2011
It was interesting how Lord Crail changed his mind about Torr when he was in front of the queen.
October 27, 2016
Story of an orphan boy who is taken in by a miller and his wife who expect him to work for his keep. As he grows up he begins to sing at night. Because of complaints, he began to go into the woods and sing to the moon. He had a very unique and beautiful voice. The lesson I saw here was that some gifts are meant for a certain purpose and not meant to be exploited or taken possesion of by others. Really beautiful illustrations by Trina Hyman.
December 31, 2020
My favorite childhood book. I read it hundreds of times. Loved the illustrations in it.
January 10, 2026
I found this book tucked away in a used bookstore, hidden among other picture books. What a lucky gem of a find. I’ve read several Clyde Robert Bulla titles and enjoyed them, but this one felt special. It follows a young boy named Torr, abandoned by his mother and taken in by a miller and his wife. Forbidden to sing, he slips into the deep woods to lift his voice to the moon. When word of his gift reaches the queen, he’s brought to the palace as her personal songbird, only to discover he cannot sing on command.
The story reads like a true folktale, with that “long ago and far away” atmosphere Bulla handled so well. A great deal unfolds in just a few pages, yet nothing feels rushed. I loved how the narrative centers a child who doesn’t quite fit the world around him, and how his creativity, his voice, becomes something sacred. There are no villains, no violence, no heavy-handed morals here. Instead, the tone is soft, melancholy, and deeply humane. Bulla’s prose is spare and swift, but remarkably easy to absorb.
And the illustrations...wow! Trina Schart Hyman’s full color artwork is stunning. Even if the plot fades for the reader, the images will stay with you. Though the book is longer than a typical picture book, it remains engaging and vibrant, offering surprising layers of character and emotion. You finish it feeling as though you’ve watched a small, beautifully rendered film. At its heart is a timeless theme of a child’s inner life and wellbeing standing in quiet defiance of the demands of the adult world.
The story reads like a true folktale, with that “long ago and far away” atmosphere Bulla handled so well. A great deal unfolds in just a few pages, yet nothing feels rushed. I loved how the narrative centers a child who doesn’t quite fit the world around him, and how his creativity, his voice, becomes something sacred. There are no villains, no violence, no heavy-handed morals here. Instead, the tone is soft, melancholy, and deeply humane. Bulla’s prose is spare and swift, but remarkably easy to absorb.
And the illustrations...wow! Trina Schart Hyman’s full color artwork is stunning. Even if the plot fades for the reader, the images will stay with you. Though the book is longer than a typical picture book, it remains engaging and vibrant, offering surprising layers of character and emotion. You finish it feeling as though you’ve watched a small, beautifully rendered film. At its heart is a timeless theme of a child’s inner life and wellbeing standing in quiet defiance of the demands of the adult world.
July 31, 2025
I see this book is listed as a fantasy here at Goodreads, but there's no supernatural elements about it. It has the flavor of an old European folk tale about an orphan with a special gift of singing.
It's a simple, yet multi-layered, halfway decent story that was better than many of the books offered by Weekly Reader in the late 1960s, but the ending is a bit vague.
The detailed illustrations, in color and black and white, were by Trina Schart Hyman. She added a lot to the text. For example, the Miller's wife wears a hat that gives her the appearance of having horns. A black cat, a dog and even a goose admires a Lord's clothes, along with the humans of the village.
In the most complex painting, of Our Protagonist at the Queen's Court, there is a dwarf with a face that looks very familiar -- it's of Mr. Spock, complete with one pointed ear showing. How this slipped by the publishers' legal department or the NBC legal department, I've no idea.
It's a simple, yet multi-layered, halfway decent story that was better than many of the books offered by Weekly Reader in the late 1960s, but the ending is a bit vague.
The detailed illustrations, in color and black and white, were by Trina Schart Hyman. She added a lot to the text. For example, the Miller's wife wears a hat that gives her the appearance of having horns. A black cat, a dog and even a goose admires a Lord's clothes, along with the humans of the village.
In the most complex painting, of Our Protagonist at the Queen's Court, there is a dwarf with a face that looks very familiar -- it's of Mr. Spock, complete with one pointed ear showing. How this slipped by the publishers' legal department or the NBC legal department, I've no idea.
November 10, 2019
I don't know how to feel about this books. It's one of those books that I feel like I don't quite "get" -- like there's more to it and it's just not resonating with me. It's set in a sort of nondescript fairy tale land. There's certainly a message to be taken from it, but it's perhaps not a powerful message -- at least not for me.
I will have to think on it. Maybe my opinion will change.
I will have to think on it. Maybe my opinion will change.
July 10, 2016
Ok but not great. I suppose you could say the theme is letting an artist do what and where they do best, instead of exploiting them. But I feel the theme is too heavy for the book...it comes across as 70s artistic cynicism rather than fairy tale story.
July 8, 2014
My favorite book when I was a child, there is a kind of sweet, soft magic to it that brings you in and surrounds you in warmth and light.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews