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Summary
Summary
In this simple, step-by-step instructional picture book, learn how you too can visit the moon on your bicycle! All you need is a very long garden hose, a very large slingshot, a borrowed spacesuit, and a bicycle . . . and plenty of imagination. With tongue firmly in cheek, Caldecott Medal winner Mordicai Gerstein outlines the steps needed in glorious comic book-style panels and a deadpan voice, leaving nothing out: the food you'll eat, how to deal with loneliness in space, how to water those sunflower seeds once they're planted--even how to deal with the media attention back home after a successful trip. An inspired work of whimsy, How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers is a spacefaring adventure for daydreamers and a starter kit for the imagination.
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013
Author Notes
Mordicai Gerstein was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California. He designed and directed animated films for twenty-five years. In 1970, he met author Elizabeth Levy, who asked him to illustrate her children's book Something Queer Is Going On. He has illustrated all of the books in her Something Queer series. He decided to try his hand at writing. His first picture book, Arnold of the Ducks, was published in 1980 and adapted into an animated film. He has also retold many ancient religious stories, such as that of Jonah in his book, Jonah and the Two Great Fish. He has won many awards including 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards from the International Film and Television Festival of New York.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Caldecott Medalist Gerstein (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers) kicks his imagination into high gear in this fantastical how-to book. A boy with spiky red hair and glasses shares his 24-step plan for planting sunflowers on the moon to cheer it up (Gerstein portrays it with droopy eyes and a frown). The Rube Goldberg-worthy expedition, chronicled in exuberant cartoon panels and comically deadpan narration, involves creating a giant slingshot to launch a flag pole/anchor harpoon into the moon (the satellite looks understandably alarmed as the boy's homemade missile approaches); then, wearing a spacesuit kindly donated by NASA, one can simply bicycle up to the moon on the 238,900 miles of garden hose attached to the harpoon ("Your mother will be sobbing, your father will shake your hand, and everyone else will say good luck and take care"). Throughout, the boy's emotions are genuine and infectious: he's moved by the beauty of Earth from space, shares feelings of loneliness on his journey, and is elated to see the results of his work after he returns home. Ages 4-8. Agent: Joan Raines, Raines & Raines. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
How would you get to the moon? Here's "a simple but brilliant plan in 24 easy steps," instigated by the gap-toothed narrator's wish to comfort a sad-faced moon. What follows is ebulliently fanciful: a giant slingshot fashioned from inner tubes propels a line of garden hoses, anchoring it to the moon with a flagpole arrow ("Once the flagpole escapes earth's gravity, it will just keep going"); the narrator rides this tightrope line to the moon on her/his snazzy red, fully loaded bike in order to plant mood-raising sunflowers, then returns to earth ("The ride back will seem a lot faster"). The second-person instructions are ingeniously detailed and genuinely childlike, brimming with energy and an unfettered mix of real and pseudo information, as are the precisely imagined and neatly rendered cartoon-style illustrations. Readers may enjoy spotting a couple of small leaks in that hose en route (and in the daft logic, too, particularly concerning the behavior of the moon, which is conveniently full at irregular intervals), but that's all part of the fun -- as is the moon's cheery grin, now composed of sunflowers, on the last page. To be perused with glee by budding science-fiction fans and engineers. joanna rudge long (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In this unusual picture book, a boy shares his inventive plan for reaching the moon, planting sunflower seeds, and returning to a hero's welcome back on Earth. What with homework, soccer, violin, and all the other stuff on his schedule, he has never made the trip. Still, he happily passes along the practical details of his plan. Preparations include collecting and connecting all your neighbors' old garden hoses into one 238,900-mile length, building an enormous slingshot that will shoot one end of the hose to the moon (don't forget the anchor), learning to bicycle along the taut hose, and requesting a small spacesuit from NASA, among other important details. Brightly illustrated in cartoon-style panels as well as the occasional double-page spread, the imaginative, first-person text will be riveting for process-minded kids. Because, really, who doesn't want to make a giant slingshot using 2,000 interwoven inner tubes and a couple of birch trees on top of a hill, not to mention travel in space? Can't quite visualize it? Not to worry. Fresh and often-amusing ink drawings, brightened with color washes, illustrate every moment of the adventure. Gerstein, a Caldecott-winning illustrator, offers a uniquely entertaining picture book that glows with the satisfaction of a boy who knows he could travel to the moon.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Whether you're trying out a balance bike, trading in a tricycle for training wheels or mounting a two-wheeler for the first time, learning to ride is hard work. This gentle book is the sweet inviting outstretched hand that makes it look easy enough to try. And try again. Addressing the reader directly with "Want to learn to ride a bicycle?" Raschka supplies guidance and comfort for the inevitable wipeouts. Playful spot illustrations depict a doting father giving his daughter a guiding hand as he reminds her to pump and runs after her. There she goes! BEN RIDES ON Written and illustrated by Matt Davies. 32 pp. Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7) Davies, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, gets things going right away in his first children's book. Here's the rousing opener: "Now that he had the bicycle of his dreams, Ben Lukin loved going to school." The ride ahead is a thrill - it's the schoolyard destination that proves problematic. "Adrian Underbite, perhaps the world's largest third grader, didn't seem to like Ben very much." He wants Ben's bike. He takes Ben's bike. And though Ben is tempted to take revenge, he chooses another path. Full of warmth, humor and a welcome lesson about bullies, Davies's debut cries out for a follow-up. HOW TO BICYCLE TO THE MOON TO PLANT SUNFLOWERS A Simple but Brilliant Plan in 24 Easy Steps. Written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. 40 pp. Roaring Brook. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Gerstein, who won a Caldecott Medal for "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," has cooked up another winning story about far-flung dreams and their realization. According to the young narrator, the moon looks like a sad clown face that needs cheering up. The obvious way to do this, the boy decides, is to bicycle on up and plant sunflowers on its surface. His father may have qualms, and his mother her fears, but the boy never doubts the feasibility of his plan. Delivered beginner graphic-novel style with a madcap mix of the technically true and the overtly outlandish, this book, with its 24 steps, shows just how he does it. MONSIEUR ALBERT RIDES TO GLORY By Peter Smith. Illustrated by Bob Graham. 32 pp. Allen & Unwin. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 7) This Australian import tells the perfectly silly story of 60-year-old Albert ("I'm fit for my age and I've got a good bike"), who decides to enter the Tour de France, to the surprise of his compatriots. "'You're mad, Monsieur Albert, you haven't a chance!' / cries a gendarme (that's just a policeman in France)" There's also his arrogant rival, Francois: "He's champion of France and a millionaire; / he trains on frogs' legs and vin ordinaire." And a gesture to winners past: "It's true that the best man did not win the race, and in bicycle races that's sometimes the case." But it's all in good fun, and with magnifique illustrations from Graham. DESMOND AND THE VERY MEAN WORD A Story of Forgiveness. By Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. Illustrated by A. G. Ford. 32 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10) What is it about bikes that brings out the bullies? In this heart-rending story based on an episode from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's childhood in South Africa, young Desmond's excitement about his new bicycle is quelled when a group of white children shout "a very mean word" at the black child. The episode haunts and infuriates him. "No matter how fast he pedaled to school, Desmond couldn't leave the mean word behind." With the help of his mentor, Father Trevor, Desmond learns to let go of anger, cultivate compassion and finally, forgive his tormentor. "At last Desmond knew what it felt like to be free." PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-The "can-do" attitude of this redheaded, gap-toothed hero; the outlandish plot; and quirky caricatures conjure up Gerstein's collaboration with Elizabeth Levy in the popular "Something Queer" series (Delacorte). The sensitive boy has always thought that the full moon looked sad. When his parents suggest that loneliness may be the cause, he determines that sunflowers are the solution. Speaking in the first and second persons, he describes his plan in illustrated steps, because "with homework, soccer, violin, and all that other stuff.I never had the time to carry it out.. Maybe it will be you!" In richly saturated panels, Gerstein imagines the things a child would gather to create a secure path between Earth and its moon-one that could also be used to water the plants. He suggests collecting 2000 used truck inner tubes (Uncle Russell has them), old garden hoses, an anchor, a flagpole, a long rubber band, and a good friend-to help create the giant slingshot that will launch 238,900 miles of hose/tightrope into space. Help from NASA and practice balancing a bicycle on a backyard hose would presumably prepare one for the longer trip. En route, the scenes switch to soaring vistas on full spreads. The protagonist imagines pedaling through clouds, sleeping within a panoramic sunset topped by twinkling stars, bouncing through craters with seeds and nozzle. Depending on which side of the brain readers favor, this story will either allow them to discriminate between fact and fiction or delight in the suspension of disbelief. Either way, they are sure to enjoy the ride.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Sensing that the moon needs cheering up, a young inventor provides instructions for an expedition to plant sunflowers there. Gerstein, who profiled The Man Who Walked Between the Towers in 2003, had begun by imagining an even greater challenge, which he describes here. Addressing readers directly, his busy narrator offers a "simple but brilliant" 24-step plan for space travel using 2,000 used truck inner tubes for a slingshot; 238,900 miles of garden hose for a tightrope to the moon; and a suit borrowed from NASA. Special clamps will help the bicycle stay on the hose, which serves double duty; it's also a conduit for water for the plants. Step by step and sub-step, the boy explains the process. His instructions are straightforward but cheerfully outlandish. They include details with special appeal for listeners (the "really cool sound" of the launch). The pacing is perfect, and illustrations add to the humor. (Pay careful attention to the moon's changing expressions.) Pen-and-ink and oil-painted panels expand to show the journey. Captions, which had been securely attached to the edges of the frames while the boy was earthbound, float around on full-bleed double-page spreads until they sink back to the bottoms of the concluding panels. The whole is a grand flight of fancy perfect for a new generation of dreamers and planners. (Picture book. 5-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
