Looking for a Moose

by Phyllis Root (Author) Randy Cecil (Illustrator)

Looking for a Moose
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
This hunt for an elusive moose through woods, swamps, bushes, and hills is just as fun as the final surprise discovery of moose en masse. Children will laugh at the running visual joke--what is that little dog looking at?
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Publishers Weekly

With an infectious assertion—"We've never, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a moose. And we really, really, really, really want to see a moose"—four children go in search of the elusive beast. As the quartet pokes in the woods, wades in swamps and peers in the bushes, Root (Big Momma Makes the World ) takes ample opportunity for rhythmic wordplay: "We scrape through the bushes—scritch scratch! scritch scratch! —the brambly-ambly, bunchy-scrunchy, scrubby-shrubby bushes." The search finally takes them to a rocky hillside, where a whole passel of comically deadpan moose await ("We've never, ever, ever seen so many moose!"). The payoff isn't entirely satisfying, however, because author and illustrator do not seem entirely in sync. Cecil's (My Father the Dog ) stubby-legged, potato-faced moose-seekers are cute and comically intent, but the expressionistic landscapes, with their subtly mottled textures and muted palette of greens and browns, put a visual damper on the silly proceedings. Still, children should enjoy seeing the diminutive cast confidently scrambling over hill and dale, and sharp-eyed readers will get a kick out of spotting various clues (e.g., skinny tree trunks with hooves) that the moose have actually been following the party all along. Age 3-5. (Sept.)

Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly LLC Used with permission


Review quotes

Root's jaunty wordplay and Cecil's textured, hide-and-seek illustrations make this an engaging romp that will be fun to share with one child or many.
—Booklist

With an infectious assertion—"We've never, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a moose. And we really, really, really, really want to see a moose"—four children go in search of the elusive beast...Children should enjoy seeing the diminutive cast confidently scrambling over hill and dale, and sharp-eyed readers will get a kick out of spotting various clues (e.g., skinny tree trunks with hooves) that the moose have actually been following the party all along.
—Publishers Weekly

Inventive and appealing illustrations depict these four multiracial moose hunters as they intently search, and the buoyant, rhymed text makes for a stellar read-aloud. An excellent addition to any collection.
—Kirkus Reviews
Phyllis Root
Phyllis Root is the author of a wide range of picture books, including Creak! Said the Bed, illustrated by Regan Dunnick; One Duck Stuck, illustrated by Jane Chapman; and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Big Momma Makes the World, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Phyllis Root lives in Minneapolis.

G. Brian Karas has illustrated more than ninety children's books, including Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle and the Ant and Honey Bee series by Megan McDonald. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780763638856
Lexile Measure
480
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
July 22, 2008
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
Library of Congress categories
-

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