The title of this picture book was the first thing to catch my eye. How can you not be drawn to a title like “Not Just Another Moose?” But then the illustration on the front cover got me, and by the time I reached the adorable story, I was a goner.
We begin with some insight into the life of Moose. He was known throughout the forest for his huge antlers. They made him who he was. But then they fell off, and he thought his life was over. He ran home and called his mother, who explained to him that his antlers would grow back in the spring. But she just didn’t get it – without those antlers, he was just the same as every other moose.
Hunting season soon arrived, and Moose hated it. He had to stay inside and just be bored. In fact, he got so bored that he soon started cooking and baking, and that’s when a wonderful idea struck him. He would build a donut stand and sell his marvelous creations. A hunter happened by and was delighted to purchase a cup of coffee and a fresh donut, all for a quarter. But he had a hard time believing that the odd fellow running the counter was not a moose.
Spring came and Moose was drinking from a pool when he noticed the first velvety nubs of new antlers poking out of his head. Soon he would have a new rack, and they would be bigger and more glorious than his first set. But he was glad in a way to have lost the originals – he had learned a lot from the experience, including that he was more than just a set of pretty antlers.
The illustrations, done by Andrea Wallace, are the crowning glory to this book. Pick it up today and enjoy it with a child you love – or just by yourself.
(This book was published in 2000 by Marshall Cavendish.)
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