AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds
GENRE
Picture book
REVIEW
"Deep in the woods, at the foot of a mountain, lived a moose. He had no family, few friends, and rarely entertained visitors". These opening lines and an illustration of a contented moose strolling alone in his rural idyll at once tell us something about the preferences of our protagonist. But life as Moose knows it abruptly turns upside down when change literally falls out of the sky in the form of a small bird. Moose rescues Bird from drowning, and reluctantly decides to spend some time with him while he learns how to fly. By the end of the summer, the two have become close friends. When a forest fire suddenly separates them, Moose realizes how important Bird is to him. Children will enjoy discovering whether the two are reunited. This is truly an exemplary book which excels both in its engaging, thoughtful story and soft black-outlined watercolor illustrations which are gorgeous in themselves and also work well with the text to convey additional detail, especially about characters' emotions. Truly humorous moments are woven throughout the story, such as Moose's first taste of bird cuisine: "They walked to the meadow to dig for worms. 'Try one,' said Bird. 'They're delicious.' Moose tried one. Revolting, he thought." A very highly recommended book for three and four year-olds.
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This book and other titles on friendship and/or fires could be read aloud during a special preschool storytime which would include a visit from a firefighter and a brief talk/drill about fire safety.
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