There are a lot of places that I go to find great books: bookstores, libraries, book clubs, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport. Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport? Yes, you read that right. Sometimes you can find amazing books in the least likely of places and that is exactly what happened on my last business trip. I had a little extra time before my flight and decided to wander around and pick up gifts for Didier and Sterling. I found one of those little souvenir stores that exist in all airports. In Minnesota is was filled with the typical state shaped magnets, mugs with pictures of Minnesota’s state bird (the mosquito) on them and lots of shirts with fish, ducks and moose on them. Didier is now the proud owner of a t-shirt, but Sterling, and let’s be honest, I, were the real winners in my Minnesotan tourist shopping because stuffed in between all the piles of shirts and tchotchke there was a book that caught my eye.
This is a Moose is such a fun book on so many levels. The first thing that catches your eye is the bold illustrations and animated text, courtesy of New York Times best-selling illustrator Tom Lichtenheld, whose artwork is full of color and movement that brings action and emotion to the story. But This is a Moose is more than just the pictures. Author Richard T. Morris pulls readers and listeners into the story through his use of repetitive text in order to tell an encouraging story of a moose who wants to be an astronaut instead of just a normal moose. While he is first told that this is impossible, throughout the story, which takes place during the filming of a documentary, more and more animals come forward showing how they can be what they want to be and push moose to follow his dreams. Due to the unique story this book is great for toddlers-elementary age kids and includes lots of humor for mom and dad as well. Whether your reader is interested in animals, space, film making or simply a funny book you can’t go wrong with This is a Moose. It definitely deserves two hooves up.
Lucky for you, This is a Moose is also available outside the MSP airport. Check with your local bookseller or you can find it here on Amazon.
Didier’s shirt
