Looking for Moose

I know we are only in the beginning of October, but I am already super excited and preparing for Emily's and my trip to the Central Massachusetts Children's Book Festival in Gardner Massachusetts November 12th. Last year we took this trip, and we decided this year it would once again be a girls only trip. This time, however, we are taking a few extra days to stop at Hershey Pennsylvania. We are going to stay at the Hershey Lodge which has an indoor water park. We are going to visit Hershey World and learn about chocolate. And if we have time, we might even visit Zoo America. This is the perfect stop since we just studied about the history of chocolate and the history of Milton Hershey.

 

Last year when we made this trip we saw numerous moose crossing signs and although we kept a sharp eye out for moose, we didn't see any. So when I was at the library picking out books last week and I saw a book titled The Invisible Moose, I thought about our upcoming trip and hoped that maybe this year we will see a moose in person. I also thought about my friend Lisa who has two great children's books featuring moose. You see where I'm going with this don't you? And of course you are correct. this weeks reviews are all books featuring moose.

The first book I read and mentioned above, The Invisible Moose, was surprisingly sweet. It was the story of a shy moose trying to gain enough courage to speak to a lovely girl moose. Unfortunately by the time he  gathered that courage and started a conversation a very bad trapper captured her and carted her off to New York City. With the help of a wise owl, Moose traveled to the city and rescued his new love. I don't want to give too  much away so I won't say more, but I am sure kids will love this interesting story.

The second book I read, Moose On The Loose, reminded me of a song by Ozmotli that has the same name. The book was a very silly rhyming story of a missing moose. Every page added another person to help in the search and another rhyming animal they had seen in addition to the moose. Besides a moose on the loose, there was also a chartreuse caboose involved. This book is quite old but definitely worth seeing if your library has a copy; unfortunately I couldn't find a cover photo.

And finally, this post brings me back to the moose books I mentioned by my friend Lisa. I first met Lisa in 2011 at the Sandstone Book Expo where we were signing copies of our books. Her book at the time was a fabulous memoir called My Hero, My Ding about the special relationship between her and her grandfather. Lisa turned out to be a funny, warm, and witty person and I feel blessed to have made her acquaintance. Since that day, I have learned many things about Lisa. She is a teacher from Chicago, she is a talented writer, and she has a penchant for collecting moose. Did I say a penchant? Perhaps obsession is more like it. What ever you call it, that collection is what inspired her to write The Moose at the Manger. So if you like to Christmas shop a little early, I would recommend you check this book. Then you too, can share Muse the Moose's journey as he looses his family, worships at the manger, and finds his family once again. Even if you don't have children who might enjoy this book, snatch up one or two copies for all the moose lovers you know.

Her other moose book, Mark the Missing Moose, was born out of a family friend's tragedy, a suicide to be exact. Both the mother of the deceased and Lisa recognized the need to let children know that they can and should talk about anything bothering them no matter how painful or difficult. Lisa gently and beautifully tells the story of a young boy who recognizes that opening up and letting others in really helps.

 
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.