25 Years of BRINGING DOWN THE MOON
Click here to find out about the virtual school visit competition
Next Thursday, the 3rd of September will be 25th anniversary of the publication of Bringing Down the Moon, the picture book illustrated by Vanessa Cabban and published by Walker Books.
The book tells the story Mole who, enchanted by his first sight of the moon, attempts to bring it down from the sky. His friends keep explaining that, “It’s not as near as it looks,” but Mole keeps trying.
A key part of the book’s lasting appeal is Vanessa Cabban’s beautiful illustrations which are all set against the gorgeous deep blue backdrop of the night sky hanging over the woodland.
Bringing Down the Moon is my most popular picture book, it has sold more than 650,000 copies and been translated into 20 different languages.
Last year, it was selected by the Books Staff of The New York Times as one of their 52 Great Books for Toddlers.
In 2003, the Dutch edition, translated by Annelies Jorna, was awarded the Kiekeboekprijs for the best pre-school book published in the Netherlands. Illustrator Vanessa Cabban and I met for the first time when we went to Amsterdam to pick up the award and remained firm friends until Vanessa’s death in 2014.
The book has been read on CBeebies Bedtime Hour by Sally Phillips, adapted into a Dutch puppet show, an animated DVD voiced by Kevin Whately, an early iOS app and a terrific stage show by the Peaceful Lion theatre company in 2012.
Henry Wyrley-Birch as Mole, John Boylan as Hedgehog and Fleur Jeffery as Squirrel in Peaceful Lion’s stage adaptation.
Photo: Pamela Raith.
Mole proved to be such a popular character that Vanessa and I created four more Mole and Friends books.
You can order the book from your local bookshop or by using the sales links below.
Win a BRINGING DOWN THE MOON virtual school visit
To celebrate the Bringing Down the Moon‘s 25th anniversary, I’m offering three schools a FREE 20 minute virtual visit including a reading of the book and a chat or Q & A with the children, on Thursday 3 September (the day of the anniversary) or in the two weeks after, up to and including Wednesday 16 September 2026, subject to my availability.
To be in with a chance of winning a virtual visit for your school, fill out the entry form below. The competition closes at 8.00 pm on Thursday 27 August at which time I will select 3 schools at random from all of the entries.
The competition is open to English-speaking schools outside the UK, providing the virtual visit can be done between 9:00am and 9.00pm United Kingdom time on a weekday.
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