The Garden Behind the Moon

David, a lonely young boy, learns the secret of walking over the glimmering sea path to the happy garden behind the moon. As David grows to manhood, he follows the Moon Angel's urging and starts on a hero's journey to bring lost treasure home to earth. And, therein lies a tale. But David has learned, while away behind the moon, how to love and be loved and how to be of service to those he comes into contact with and is very anxious to live out what he learned.

Table of Contents:
Foreword
Chapter 01 - The Princess Aurelia
Chapter 02 - The Moon-Calf
Chapter 03 - The Man Who Knew Less Than Nothing
Chapter 04 - David in the Water
Chapter 05 - The Moon-Angel
Chapter 06 - The Moon-House
Chapter 07 - The Moon-Garden
Chapter 08 - Phyllis
Chapter 09 - The Last Play-Day
Chapter 10 - Behind the Moon-Angel
Chapter 11 - The Land of Nowhere
Chapter 12 - The Black Winged Horse
Chapter 13 - The Iron Castle
Chapter 14 - The Iron Man
Chapter 15 - The Escape
Chapter 16 - Back to the Moon-House
Chapter 17 - David
Chapter 18 - The King's Messenger
Chapter 19 - Princess Aurelia

AUTHOR
Howard Pyle was born on March 5, 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware. From the time he was a very small boy he loved pictures, especially the pictures in storybooks. Among his favorites were Grimm's German Fairy Tales and Arabian Nights. At the age of twenty-one, Pyle began to contribute illustrations and fables to St. Nicholas magazine and later went on to write and illustrate books for children. His first was The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883. Many more books followed, including Pepper and Salt; or, Seasoning for Young Folk, Otto of the Silver Hand, Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates, and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. He also taught illustration at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and later set up his own art school in Wilmington. He died on November 9, 1911, in Florence, Italy.-Amazon.com

Quotes about The Garden Behind the Moon
Every night in the fishing village where he lives eleven-year-old David, a moon calf, sits alone by the shore watching the path of light that stretches across the sea until it almost touches the moon. Wondering where it goes, he decides to talk to Hans Krout, the cobbler, about it and learns that the cobbler has been out on the moon path himself. That same night Hans takes him to the shore and ties to teach him how to cross but David gets scared and falls into the water. Then one day he hears the voice of the Moon Angel down by the shore. Moon Angel makes people happy when they're sad, but he also takes something away from them. He tells David that he, Moon Angel, is the Master Cobbler, and David should have Hans bring him to the moon path again. That same night Hans and David make another trip down to the moon path, and this time David crosses it. Once he's on the other side he discovers that the path leads to a magical world behind the moon where David's adventure begins.

When he enters the magical world, the first thing he discovers is the Moon House where the Man in the Moon lives. It's dark and quiet, and every time David looks out a window, he sees something different. A few days later he discovers the Moon Garden. It's a peaceful place with a lot of children living in it. The children begin talking and playing with David, and they don't make fun of him like the children in the village where he lives, because they're all moon calves too. He leaves the Moon Garden, but the Man in the Moon decides that David will be allowed to go there for three days every month. During one of his visits he meets a girl named Phyllis, and they start to become really good friends. They do everything together. But five months later, the guardian of the children tells David that he can't come to the Moon Garden again because he will soon be 12 years old. Children can't live there once they're 12 years old because they have to learn how to become a grown man or woman. She also tells him that Phyllis is a princess, and that he was really sent there to find the Wonder Box and the Know All Book in order to bring them back to the brown earth again. The guardian says he must first battle a giant and then see an old woman in a red petticoat, who will tell him what to do next. Then while in the Moon House one day, David sees the Moon Angel, and passes behind him.

Now David finds himself on the shore of the sea ten years in the future as a grown man. He goes to the old woman's cottage and learns that Adam and Eve lived in the Moon Garden, where the Moon Angel gave them the Wonder Box. He told them that it held the greatest joy in the world, the Know All Book, but not to open the box because, if they do, sorrow will come upon them. However, a few days later they opened it and end up captives of the Iron Giant in his Iron Castle. In order for David to find the Wonder Box and the Know All Book, he'll have to travel to the Iron Castle too, but he'll have to outsmart the giant in order to succeed. Will David win the battle, and get the Wonder Box and the Know All Book back to the brown earth?

I liked this book because it was very magical and exciting. If I had been David, I would have been sad to leave the Moon Garden, and scared to battle the giant. If you enjoy reading books about magical places, THE GARDEN BEHIND THE MOON is an excellent choice!
Reader Review - Amazon.com

I bought this book for my son after discovering and enjoying Howard Pyle's stories of King Arthur. The Garden Behind the Moon is without question the best children's book I have ever read. It teaches some important concepts in a way that young children can understand: the reason why David cannot remain in the moon garden, how and why David must do the task he was sent to do, how David completes the difficult but necessary transition from little boy to grown man and how he ultimately brings the Know-All book containing its wisdom about the greatest sorrow and greatest joy to earth.

This book along with the Wonder Clock and the King Arthur stories have made my son and I Howard Pyle fans. Today's books for children are disappointing in comparison.
Reader Review - Amazon.com
"