3/30/22

Not a fan of MoonPies as "food" but I love reading this to my kids. It's a great story with great art from a wonderful creator I'm proud to know. ( )

When Jimmy's mom won't let him have a moonpie and milk before dinner, he travels in his play jalopy to the moon and the milky way to get moonpies and milk. He then feeds all the moonpies to some creatures on mars and they help him get back in time for dinner. He gets to have a moonpie and milk for dessert.

When Jimmy asks his mother for a Moon Pie, and she tells him he will have to wait until after dinner, the young boy wishes that his homemade jalopy could take him to the moon, where he can get his favorite treat in person. To his great surprise, his jalopy comes to life and whisks him off on an outer-space adventure, first to the moon, where he collects his Moon Pies, and then to the Milky Way, where he gets the milk he needs to go with the pies. When confronted by the terrifying Grimble Grinder, Jimmy flees, crash-landing on Mars. Will he share his Moon Pies with the Mars Men he meets? What will happen when the Grimble Grinder finds him...?

Presenting an imaginative journey in which a young boy gets to hobnob with the Man in the Moon, a group of nine hundred and ninety-nine Mars Men, and a misunderstood interstellar monster, Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure is an absolute hoot to read! The colorful artwork is every bit as engaging as the text, highlighting both the humor and the magical fun of Jimmy's adventure. I don't know if it was the theme, but the illustrations here reminded me a bit of some of William Joyce's work, such as that in his The Man In the Moon. I'm more used to the illustrations Tony DiTerlizzi has done for longer works of fiction, such as The Spiderwick Chronicles, so it was good to see some of his larger painted work. Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining and fantastic outer-space picture-book adventures. ( )

Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure tells the story of Jimmy Zangwow who really wants milk and a Moon Pie. When his mom denies his request, he takes his jalopy and flies high into outer space. There he talks to the moon and asks for Moon Pies, eventually receiving one thousand Moon Pies. When he asks for milk, he is directed to the Milky Way. As he is scooping up milk, the Grimble Grinder lets out a grumble so loud that the jalopy falls on Mars. Jimmy shares his Moon Pies and milk with the nine hundred ninety-nine Mars Men. The Grimble Grinder lets out more grumbles and all the Mars Men panic that they will be eaten. Jimmy offers the Grimble Grinder his Moon Pie and milk, and the Grimble Grinder reveals that he did not want to eat them, but was just so hungry that his stomach grumbled loud and frightened everyone away. To get Jimmy home to dinner, the Mars Men sew the Moon Pie wrappers into a huge balloon, and the Grimble Grinder eats the rest of the Moon Pie to burp into the balloon. Jimmy returns home and eats all of his dinner.

This is an example of science fiction because it incorporates scientific possibilities like spaceships and space travel. It also contains other fantasy motifs. For instance, it includes other worlds that the character travels to. There are special character types such as the moon and the Mars Men. The jalopy that Jimmy travels in is a fantastic object as it aids Jimmy in his quest.

GENRE: Science Fiction

USES:
- have students contrast what is fact and fiction (ex. the Milky Way exist, but there is not floating bottles of milk in it)
- assign a creative writing assignment where students come up with another creative way for Jimmy to make it home