Oh! Look at the Moon Lyrics
A child calls to a mother to look at the moon, bright as a lamp in the air. Last week she was small and shaped like a bow, but now she is big and round. She lights the door and the playthings, and a small star close by may be her baby.
Oh! Look at the Moon
Oh, look at the moon!
She is shining up there,
Oh, mother, she looks
Like a lamp in the air.
Last week she was smaller,
And shaped like a bow,
But now she's grown bigger,
And round as an O.
Pretty moon, pretty moon,
How you shine on the door,
And make it all bright
On my nursery floor.
You shine on my playthings,
And show me their place,
And I love to look up
At your pretty bright face
And there is a star
Close by you, and may be
That small twinkling star
Is your little baby.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/oh-look-at-the-moon/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Tune
- Wondering and hushed, lifting on each 'pretty moon'
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Last week she was smaller, | Curve your hand into a thin crescent, then open it into a full circle. |
| Pretty moon, pretty moon, | Reach up and point to the moon, real or pretend. |
What Does Oh! Look at the Moon Mean?
The poem is a child's report on what the moon has done. Last week she was shaped like a bow, a thin curve like the crescent seen just after a new moon, and now she is round as an O. The moon does change shape over about a month, from a thin crescent to a full disc and back. The child sees it grow and says so.
The poem goes on to what the moonlight does. It makes the door bright and lights the nursery floor, and it shows me their place to the playthings, meaning the child can see where each toy is. In the last verse the child imagines a family: a small, twinkling star close to the moon may be her little baby. The moon is called a she throughout.
History and Origin
A New York book of verses for the very young, from the publishers Kiggins and Kellogg, holds this poem. A child speaks to a mother in it, and the nursery floor is the only room it names.
Learning Activities
- Moon diary: look at the moon on several nights over two weeks and draw its shape each time.
- Bow to O: use cut-out paper shapes to show a crescent growing into a circle.
- Spot the star: on a clear night, look for a star near the moon and invent a name for the 'baby'.
- Moonlight finds: turn off the room light, use a torch as the moon, and name what it shows.